Best Senior Pranks
Senior pranks are a long-standing, though unofficial, tradition at many high schools. After four years of studious conformity, pranks are a way many students assert their independence and celebrate their impending adulthood after graduation. When deciding on a particular prank, however, it is critical for students to recognize the fine line between a mischievous prank and vandalism or a criminal act. No matter how well-intentioned, no prank should cause harm to another living creature (human or animal), and the students responsible should be willing and able to pay for any incidental damages resulting from the prank. After all, owning up to one’s actions is the first step toward being an adult, and the best senior pranks are always atoned for, however discreetly.
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Rank
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Item
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Why is it the best
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| 1. |
Deconstruction Pranks
Taking something, usually large, apart and reassembling it in an impossible location. |
The classic car in the classroom or on the roof is a prank that never ceases to amaze startled onlookers. The larger the item and the smaller the space, the more amazing the prank. Choosing an administrator’s vehicle or school bus is always a winner, and the key is remembering the item will need to be deconstructed a second time to be effectively removed. | ||
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| 2. |
Technological Pranks
Rewiring or reprogramming items to behave erratically or unexpectedly. |
As more high schools offer tech classes, more senior pranks are taking advantage of that education by altering morning announcements, bell schedules, and video broadcasts in the school to pay homage to the senior pranksters. No technological prank, however, should result in lasting damage to the school’s equipment. | ||
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| 3. |
Graduation Pranks
Subtle pranks pulled off during the graduation ceremony. |
There is no better way to avoid the consequences of a prank than to engineer it to take place during graduation itself. The prank should not disrupt or demean the ceremony, however. Handing small items – pennies with the graduation year, jelly beans, or other trinkets to the principal or other official as each graduate shakes their hand can be just as disconcerting as a large prank, particularly if the school has several hundred graduates. | ||
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| 4. |
Fulfilling Pranks
Some of the best senior pranks “fill” a space with an usual or unexpected object. |
Many students working together can complete a fulfilling prank in just minutes. Planting hundreds of “For Sale” signs on the school’s lawn, filling the office with balloons, popcorn, or styrofoam peanuts, or writing the graduation year on every car in the parking lot with mild soap are all examples of pranks that not only fill a space, but fulfill a devious urge as well. | ||
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| 5. |
Year Acknowledgement Pranks
Pranks to highlight the graduating class with the appropriate year. |
The graduation year will bond seniors together long after matriculation, and choosing to highlight that year adds special meaning to the best senior pranks. Arranging small items to spell out the digits or painting the numbers in large sizes are classic applications of this type of prank. | ||
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| 6. |
Mascot Pranks
Mischievous deeds focused on a rival school’s mascot. |
Capturing a rival’s mascot is the most well-known version of a mascot prank, but other variations include dressing it in your school’s colors, altering its appearance to pay homage to your school, or showing it submitting to your school’s superiority. Students should take care never to harm a living mascot, however, and it’s always possible for such a prank to heighten rivalries even further. | ||
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| 7. |
Cumulative Pranks
Numerous small pranks coordinated to wreak havoc in a short period of time. |
While covering a flagpole with tires, rearranging classroom signs, or blocking parking lot entrances may not seem like ingenious pranks, coordinating many such small efforts into one day clearly indicates a prankster mastermind at work. Furthermore, this tactic allows different groups of students to choose which pranks appeal to them, so more people can be involved and have fun. | ||
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| 8. |
Animal Pranks
Pranks involving unexpected animals joining in the festivities. |
The cow / pig / chicken in the school is the classic example of this senior prank, but there are innumerable ways to enliven the event to make it more memorable. Using several animals numbered nonsequentially will have school officials searching for the “missing” creature, or the animals can be given tags and names to cause greater hilarity. As with any prank using live creatures, the animals should be cared for properly and not harmed during the prank’s execution. | ||
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The best senior pranks are memorable and unique without being dangerous or criminal. Before choosing a prank, students should always be aware of potential consequences, including cancelling prom, senior activities, or even the graduation ceremony itself. Schools that may have had pranks go wrong in the past will be less tolerant of even simple jokes, and pranksters should always consider the ramifications of their actions on the school as a whole.
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