When it comes to senior pranks, it’s all fun and games until someone gets suspended — or worse, a bad prank might even deny a student the right to walk across the stage on their graduation day.

Jack O’Brien ‘15, in fear of not being able to attend his graduation ceremony, refrained from doing any pranks that might have warranted unwanted attention from the administration. He planned to detonate an array of firecrackers and smoke bombs throughout the day, but was forced to quickly withdraw his plan.

“[Assistant Principal] Ms. [Carolyn] Rownd came up to me and told me what I had planned was a federal offense. I’m just going to chill out and not get arrested on my last day,” said O’Brien.

However, many other students ignored the consequences and carried on with their antics. In one case, students staged a fake fight on a large scale that garnered attention from almost every administrative member. The seniors fabricated an argument on Twitter the previous day to make the brawl seem more realistic. Two students, Diamond Coleman ‘15 and Alexis Hutchinson ‘15, then pretended to get into an altercation and began throwing fake punches.

In another case, students went so far as to jumble the rooms of several teachers–they rearranged items and even flipped over the desks. One of the victims of this prank was Mrs. Nayder, whose desk was turned over and its contents scattered on the floor. This stunt consequently delayed her from giving a final exam to her fourth period class.

Though the senior class found their pranks amusing, administration thought otherwise.

“I think some pranks can be funny, but when it crosses the line, it can be inappropriate,” Assistant Principal Therese Plunkett said.

Plunkett believes that on their last day, seniors need to “make it fun and memorable.” However, defacing school property is unacceptable in her eyes, which is why she particularly dislikes the annual pranks.

“I personally don’t like them,” said Plunkett. “I don’t know when the tradition started, but I think seniors should be mindful with their pranks.”

The security staff were among the few that were concerned about the pranks. To ensure the safety of the students they took several precautionary measures. School security officer Jarard Nathaniel says that the security team becomes much more receptive during senior prank day.

“We just get a little more aware of things that get brought in and out. We check bags a little bit tighter than we normally do,” said Nathaniel.

After ensuring that no harmful pranks are planned, the security staff are more lenient with students.

“As long as no one gets hurt during the pranks, I don’t mind it at all,” said Nathaniel. “As long as it’s just harmless fun, go for it.”