High School Prank Suspends Half of Senior Class

[Colleen27]

In my area a meth lab blew up a block from one of the high schools about a month before throwing the book at a bunch of kids for putting Jello in the water and whatever else the prank involved. I think people need a reality check on intent and severity, I'd submit that an inability to recognize that this knee jerk nonsense is not Justice is the problem. If you can't spot a meth lab before it explodes within 500 feet of a school you have lost all credibility trying to enforce a Peacekeeping Jello infraction. I have no taste for the inane strong arming of young people. They should leave the kids with the forks alone and focus on bigger things.

I get your point... but the Jello prank can be really destructive, so I can understand taking it seriously. If they use enough even to color the water, it requires the fountain/pool/whatever be drained completely for cleaning and can permanently damage pumps and filters. I wouldn't expect a school to look the other way about a senior prank that cost thousands to remedy, and that's actually one of the two examples that our local schools have cited to illustrate what kinds of pranks will be treated as criminal vandalism (along with spray painting permanent surfaces). That's not even in the same game as forking the field or scattering balloons in the lunchroom, never mind the same ballpark.

Interestingly, in light of this thread, I just heard that one of the local schools' senior prank this year was "flocking" the school's front lawn (putting out scores of lawn flamingos overnight, in this case, some of them wearing grad caps or class of '21 party supplies)... and they made the arrangements through a fundraiser a school org. was sponsoring so at least a staff member or two likely knew in advance. I'm sure no one will be punished. But that's the very definition of a harmless prank, so much so that it is a business/fundraiser opportunity because people will do it to loved ones' homes in celebration of a birthday or new baby or whatever, and since the company/group make the flamingos disappear as magically as they appeared, overnight, after two days, there's no burden of cleanup on the school. That's how pranks should be. Fun, silly, photogenic, but not damaging or destructive.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Again, the punishment wasn't for the forks.

I'm sorry - I can't make the pictures big enough to actually see what they did inside. What damage was supposedly done?

 

[Dan Murphy]

My DDs forked our yard for my DH’s 50th birthday this past December - totally harmless. Suspending kids for destroying property or harming people is understandable, but for something like this is ridiculous. When my DD22 was a senior they dropped 100s of ping pong balls down on this large area, during passing period, from an upstairs balcony. Everyone thought it was funny and they did pick up the balls. Senior pranks is a part of high school - as long as they are harmless, then let the kids make fun memories for themselves - IMO

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The Grim Reaper

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'm sorry - I can't make the pictures big enough to actually see what they did inside. What damage was supposedly done?

I never said there was damage done. But it was what they did inside and not the forks that got them in trouble.

 

[PollyannaMom]

But it was what they did inside and not the forks that got them in trouble.

But what did they do inside? (I might be mixing it up with other people's stories in the thread, but I thought all I read was they put some balloons in the cafeteria.)