PRO: By getting approval, senior pranks can be innocent fun

The senior prank is a notorious right of passage for high schoolers all over America. Throughout senior year, class members start to talk about what pranks they will pull on their last day.

When carried out tastefully, senior pranks can be fun for everyone to enjoy.
If students are worried about the surprise element of a prank, there can be a small group of administrators who are organized to approve or to disapprove of them.
This way, seniors will still get the surprise element of the prank without worrying about bad prank play out. Other grades and staff won’t know about the prank until it actually happens, so the purpose of the prank isn’t defeated.
It would not be a bad thing if administrators knew about the pranks ahead of time and were able to screen them.
Unfortunately, some individuals cannot make the distinction between “prank” and “vandalism.”
Most seniors are legal adults, and they should be treated as such. There is a hard line between vandalism and a prank, so expectations should be communicated to students involved in pranking. If a prank crosses the line into vandalism of any kind of school property, students should understand that they must and will be held accountable.
There have been several distasteful pranks (or actually acts of vandalism disguised as pranks) at John Carroll throughout the years, and to ensure the safety of all faculty, staff, students and property, there needs to be set guidelines in place. This way, everyone can be on the same page while also still getting to play harmless and fun pranks.
Pranks don’t always have to be bad things, but, generally, they have negative connotations. The way most high schoolers see it, senior pranks resemble one last hoorah, or one final mark on the school. However, future seniors can work to make pranks fun without the negative connotations.
Seniors want to be remembered, and the execution of senior pranks will ensure that their memory will be preserved for years to come.
However, there should be rules and boundaries set to make sure that seniors are playing pranks that are reasonable. Completely eradicating senior pranks will ruin the “end of year hype” many seniors look forward to.
Seniors are role models to the underclassmen, and by positively executing pranks, it will encourage other grade levels to do the same.
Seniors need to remember that acts of vandalism are not pranks, and planning and executing acts of vandalism will result in consequences that will affect the class, individuals, and others negatively.

– Aeowynn Ayres

CON: Senior pranks should not be permitted in any form

Tradition is common, but pranks have evolved too far sometimes; therefore, this “tradition” just needs to be eliminated.

Becoming a senior is the last step in a student’s high school career, so with that, seniors often believe that pranks are a popular way for the senior class to go out in style — although there is too much ambiguity as to what would be allowed.
The senior class’ picking of a prank before leaving the school is a tradition done world-wide. In Australia and the United Kingdom, playing senior pranks is referred to as “Muck-Up Day.”
At JC, senior pranks have sometimes been pre-approved, but this seems to mostly not be the case. Pranks in general should not happen.
Some feel that pranks may be a “tradition” for the last day, but that does not mean that seniors cannot have fun if pranks do not happen. Tradition is not ruined if pranks do not happen. Life will go on if pranks do not happen.
Members of the senior class are practically adults by time they are ending their senior year and should be capable and responsible enough to keep their pranks and messing around to their personal time and out of the school building. Bringing this into the school environment brings other students into this that may not want to face these pranks and consequences.
If something were to go wrong, then the seniors would be expected to be old enough to take accountability whether it is minor or major consequences.
There is also the line between a “prank” and “vandalism.” Often seniors cannot seem to distinguish between the two; therefore, eliminating pranks eliminates vandalism.
While a prank tends to be more lighthearted and fun, vandalism becomes destructive and potentially a crime.
It is too risky for students to get caught up in fun that could end much worse if taken too far. Last year JC experienced a prank that went too far that ended with the closing of bathrooms, dead fish, and vandalism within the halls. Baby oil on the bathroom floors, hot dogs thrown around, and fish left in the sinks were beyond too far for what a “prank” should be.
The word “prank” often has a bad connotation that whatever this act will be is malicious or having ill-intent. This is can often be true and seems to be more common than not. To keep students, staff, and the school building itself safe, pranks are best to not be allowed.
For this last graduating class, the administration openly communicated their final day expectations to the senior class.
This was a good way to set up expectations to prevent any room for confusion. As a result, students were able to have a positive last day. – Madison Elliott