Senior pranks have been a tradition for decades. Before send-off at graduation, seniors pull one final stunt. In theory, these pranks are harmless fun—wallpapering classroom walls with sticky notes, hiring mariachis to follow around the principal, or turning desks and chairs upside down before class.
M-A’s most memorable pranks include the robocalling scam in 2009 when a group of seniors used an auto-dialing system to call 1,700 M-A students’ homes. Families received an automated call informing them that school the next day would be postponed until 9:50 a.m. due to a power outage.
Another infamous M-A prank was when students plastered over the door to former teacher John Florio’s classroom with drywall, then painted the concealed doorway to match the rest of the wing. Current English teacher Lisa Otsuka said, “They did such a good job [that] the District thought the classroom disappeared.”
In 2011, seniors ‘borrowed’ three goats from the Sacred Heart Petting Zoo and put them around the M-A campus before school started. All the goats were found, but there was more to the prank: the goats were spray-painted with a one, two, and four, leading custodians to believe that there was another goat on the loose.
However, the best days of senior pranks seem to be behind us. Many schools, including M-A, are cracking down on senior pranks. Additionally, due to the rise of social media, pranksters have higher odds of being identified and caught. Without the cover of relative anonymity, as well as less tolerant administration, senior pranks are on the decline.
Last year, when seniors attempted to camp out in the school parking lot overnight, police were called, and students were sent home. In a second attempt at a prank, seniors brought a slip-and-slide to school, which was shut down as it was being set up. Then, a student climbed the fence around the pool and let the rest of the students in, who all jumped into the pool.
M-A administrators went on M-A Today to discuss their disapproval of the prank and the consequences that accompanied it. The person who opened the door to the pool would not be able to walk at graduation. In a sign of class unity, no one gave up the person who opened the door for the rest of the students.
Alejandra Valdez, class of 2023, said, “I hope this year’s seniors are more creative than we were, and I hope admin can help instead of trying to stop it again. It’s tradition!”
