Water Wars Gone Wild

Although it’s hard to miss, Gallatin High’s seniors have begun wearing floaties, carrying squirt guns, and becoming increasingly vigilant. These novelties and silly acts are not the common senioritis that plagues many students, but a new game: Senior Assassin.

“I staked out my first target at his house for a while… [but then] I got a tip that he likes ‘the slots,’ so I pulled up to Lucky Lils, and within ten minutes, he was there without his floaties, and I got him,” Jamie Dahman, a senior and participant, shared when recounting the ‘assassination’ of his first target. 

As The Orbit Journal reported, Senior Assassin, a game now permeating high schools, debuted in 2014 and is in its second dramatic year running here. However new it may be, students are playing fervently. Stalking, exploiting, and backstabbing have all found their way into our Gallatin High School community via this game, yet will this game continue to be a Gallatin tradition? How are students preparing for the carnage of water battles, and why are seniors participating in the first place?

Senior Assassin is a game exclusively for seniors and operates on five significant rules: 

1. All players are safe from ‘assassination’ when wearing both their floaties and goggles

2. Players cannot be ‘assassinated’ during any sports practices

3. The entire campus is safe, except the parking lot after 4 o’clock

4. One cannot enter their target’s house without permission from a family member

5. A player must strategically take out their target within a set period, or they’ll have a ‘bounty.’

Many players have great success with simply wearing their floaties. When asked, seniors like Jamie Dahman replied, “I’m floaty-ed up… everyone thinks I look ridiculous, but the money is worth it. Pride too, but money mostly.” Reagan Hays, a senior and game participant, also replied, “I’m always floaty-ed up.” This constant protection has made the efforts of a few players very troublesome. “I think it’s funny how me and one of my friends have put so much effort into this… we’ve staked out for hours, and we’ve gotten nowhere… because of the floaties,” said a player, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect their stake in the game. These strategies and tactics are what make Senior Assassin an incredibly unpredictable activity.

To counter this safety, Senior Assassin occasionally has ‘purge days’ when floaties can no longer protect players. “I think there’s an abundance of protective gear, and people should not be as cautious,” said Judah McConville when questioned about a possible purge day. Additionally, a senior and participant in the competition, Matthew Waldo, answered, “I think it would be really funny to see one of my friends lose his mind without the floaties for safety.”

Gallatin High’s Senior Assassin is in its fourth week after starting with 125 players, all of whom paid 15 dollars to play. This prize of roughly 2000$, 50% of the pot to the last senior standing, 30% to second, and 10% for the most creative elimination and most eliminations, has triggered an incredible zeal for the game. When asked what he would do if he won the prize money, Jamie Dhaman answered, “Probably pay for school—[I’m] Hit-manning my way to college.”

Although the game has made rules that sporting events are safe zones, many participants have still found themselves assassinated during team practices because of several arbitrary requirements for safety. For example, one senior participant, Carter Runyon, was assassinated in the parking lot on his way to put his tennis shoes on for practice. “I was grabbing my tennis shoes at tennis practice, so I should’ve been safe,” said Carter when asked. Although there was little Carter could do to return to the game, many students sympathized with his situation.  “I should’ve been safe. There was a hashtag for free Carter,” commented Carter when asked about student response. Situations such as these raise the question of whether the game’s rules allow the exploitation of athletes and others because of their commitments to events.

Many seniors have gone to extreme lengths, especially with such a massive prize on the line. “I know what my target drives, where he lives when he leaves his house, and I'm chill with his dad,” answered Nash Coley, a competing senior. This activity is undoubtedly stirring up innovation and enthusiasm in our Gallatin High community. However, some fear the game is getting out of hand.

Mrs. Greiner, a math teacher and prom organizer, told Raptor Report to let all know that floaties and squirt guns are not allowed at prom. Don’t worry; you don’t have to be floaty-ed to be safe for the slow dance. She’s also asked that those who try to use prom as a place for the game should be disqualified.

The game and its deep pot have incited grand ambitions and innovations to win. Stakeouts have been made, people have been followed, and hours upon hours of people's time have been poured into strategically planning safety and attack strategies for the Senior Assassin game outside and around town. Although it’s young on our campus, the game may give everyone a relatively equal opportunity to have fun, spend time thinking strategically, and pay for college by soaking each other with water guns.