Elly Beauchamp | staff writer

Since the 2013 Texas flag prank, senior pranks have not aged well. Unlike the painted flag on top of the cafeteria building, this year’s prank included spilling bottles of baby oil onto the floor at the in the second floor foyer. After the class bell rang, students unknowingly walked out into the hallway and began to slip and slide across the ground. The hallway was then promptly closed off and students were locked in their classrooms until it was all cleaned away.

While the senior prank didn’t cause any serious injury, it did spark a debate between grade levels. Did the senior prank go too far this time?

Earlier this quarter, seniors brought pets to school, carrying them around in their backpacks and walking them proudly through the hallways. One student even went as far as to bring their pet goldfish, which was promptly taken away by an AP. Even though parents and students were both told to keep their pets at home, students still came out of their cars with dogs and other pets. Later when called back to pick up the pets the parents scolded their children’s behavior, but weren’t they the ones who let them bring the pets in the first place? These pranks are not funny or inventive. They were only a nuisance for the custodians, teachers, and parents.

It’s no secret that the best pranks are the ones that are kept secret. Nowadays, nobody can keep a secret.  Everyone has to post the “hilarious” prank they pulled on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, but by then the prank has lost anything that made it funny. The best pranks are the anonymous ones, such as the painted flags on top of the cafeteria. The prank confused the entire staff, and yet it is still up there to this day.

The baby oil prank has been the last in a series of senior pranks this semester, but Seniors have blurred the line between what is acceptable and what is not. While nobody was seriously hurt during the prank, someone could have been injured while walking through the corridor. We have many people on crutches and with casts who could have walked into the hallway and seriously hurt themselves. The prank forced the staff to close off the hallway and along with the junior testing, put the school staff into an uncomfortable and avoidable situation. This time, seniors may have stepped over the line.

There is a distinct difference between pranks that everyone can have a laugh at and pranks that are disrespectful and have the possibility of being dangerous. The seniors who spilled the baby oil across the ground knew that somebody could have gotten hurt, and yet with through with it anyway. For those not involved in the prank; they didn’t find it funny or amusing and instead thought it was nuisance.

The funniest pranks are the simple ones that don’t require too much thought and no one knows who committed it. Just knowing that you have gotten away with it is half of the enjoyment of pulling a prank. Next time, seniors should think more about what would be smarter and simpler than trying to outdo everyone before them. Confuse, don’t abuse should be the new motto.