by Caitlin Blackmon | staff writer

Senior Maddie Cleer eagerly anticipated the senior assassin game that began Saturday, March 5. She organized and prepared to make this year’s assassin game memorable for every participating senior.

“It’s fun. It’s something, as second semester seniors we don’t have as much school work, and a lot of us are already admitted into college, and so it’s something we can do to just let loose and have fun,” Cleer said.

This year, community members have called the administration with complaints pertaining to the game. The complaints come from members who are genuinely concerned about safety, whether or not they knew the disruptive behavior is a result of students playing a game.

“[A] lot of [community members] were concerned more about not knowing who’s in the backyard. Is it a burglar? Is it someone that’s causing mischief?” principal John Mehlbrech said. “And I was afraid that, knowing how society is today, that somebody is going to take action.”

With concerned families and nervous parents, Mehlbrech decided an email to all the parents of seniors would be the most appropriate way to try to resolve the issues revolving around the game. Mehlbrech was more concerned with the reactions of the community than with the game itself, because it’s simply that – a game.

“You know, when you’re walking around with anything that might look like a gun, you know, people are so trigger-happy,” Mehlbrech said. “And I’m just afraid of what the reaction might be if one of you get hurt.”

In order to maintain some order and attempt to keep students safe, Cleer and senior Matthew Kimmell have updated the rules of the game, which can also be found on the assassin Twitter page.

“First, if you’re just playing in the game, you get assigned a target, and then you are also somebody’s target,” Kimmell said. “So your purpose is to try to not get shot with the water gun by your target, because if you get shot by the water gun by your target, you are out.”

There are conditions that make the game a bit trickier. For instance a player can’t shoot anyone on school grounds. Also, if a player intends to shoot their target at his/her home, the player must have permission to enter the home first.

“You can’t shoot people while they’re at school, you can’t shoot people at work. If they’re at a practice for sports or for band or theater or something, you can’t shoot them then,” Cleer said. “You can’t shoot them at church, and you can’t shoot them if they’re at their own home, you have to be invited into their home.”

However, some students tried to find a way around this. While they had to have permission to enter someone’s house, sitting outside someone’s house in the bushes and moving cars around was a means of attacking targets secretly.

“If strangers are hiding in your bushes, and you’ve got four or five kids back there, what are they doing? And in today’s world, we’re all very sensitive about our property,” Melbrech said.

Due to the intensity of the game, some people decided to play by their own terms and don’t adhere to all the rules. This year, Cleer and Kimmell have decided to implement a sportsmanship clause to make sure students are honest and don’t stretch the rules, otherwise they will be pulled out of the game.

“We tried to establish a sportsmanship clause this year, because apparently last year there were some people that, you know, it got really out of hand, and they were freaking out and stuff, and they got really rude to some people,” Cleer said. “So, if we hear about any of that happening, they will be disqualified immediately.”

When an assassin shoots a target, the assassin must take a picture with his target and post it on Twitter to prove the target has been shot. Cleer and Kimmell are using the CTJ Assassin 2016 Twitter page to keep track of who’s still in the game.

“[We’re] actually trying to do something this year where our followers list on Twitter is gonna be everybody who’s still in the game,” Cleer said. “And then when somebody gets out, we’re going to unfollow them. So it’ll be a running list of who’s still in the game.”

The assassin game gives seniors a chance to intermingle with other seniors, even though senior year is coming to an end.

“I am excited because it’s kind of like a new way to meet new people, so you don’t really know who you’re gonna get,” senior Liliana Jayme said. “And it’s kinda cool ‘cause you can get a person you didn’t even know went here, so you’re meeting new people and having to actually find out about another person.”

Second semester of senior year is a time of excitement, as seniors are ready to graduate and start a new chapter in their lives, and this game gives them the chance to enjoy the last little bit of high school.

“I think it’s just like tradition, so I took on the role with Maddie Cleer to make it happen,” Kimmell said.

Throughout the Assassin’s game, Cleer found the role she had to be stressful and overwhelming. With constant concerns and complaints regarding the game, not only could she step away long enough to simply go to the movies, but she didn’t know how to resolve many of the issues because it was difficult to know who to trust.

“Sometimes, you don’t really know who to lean to or who to trust, you know,” Cleer said. “You can’t end up just trusting one person and going with your personal gut decision, because, what if that’s wrong, and nobody’s ever gonna be happy.”

Want to keep up with the nine people that are still in the game, as of April 20? Check out the official Twitter page here.