May 11, 2023

Despite a multi-decade tradition, this year’s senior class, along with many to follow, are now restricted from participating in senior pranks. The administration set this ‘zero-tolerance’ policy in place to combat pranks that could be harmful or destructive. The district has completely banned any pranks this year, large or small. 

“There’s no small degree we can allow,” assistant principal Willie Cook said. 

Senior prank day has been a tradition for many years in countless schools across the United States. On this day, seniors in high school play tricks on others in the school and on their teachers. Pranks in the past have included writing the year of graduation on the school lawn or filling hallways up with beach balls. Many pranks that teachers have experienced at Copley have been relatively modest compared to the chaos at other schools.

“There was only one year when I got pranked,” forensics teacher Alex Telari said.  “In 2021, [students] completely Post-it noted my entire classroom.

“I don’t see the harm in it as long as everybody follows the guidelines and needing approval from Mr. Smith is a good way to make sure we stick within those.”

The new no-pranks rule comes as a consequence of some unfortunate actions by students in previous graduating classes.

“Prank day has become different,” Principal Eric Smith said. “Some students have taken [it] so far that it’s gotten to the point where we [can] no longer condone [it] at all. There have been some past circumstances that have been really extreme, [including] significant violations of the law.”

Many seniors are disappointed with the ban, viewing it as an infringement on a high school rite of passage. 

“Everyone’s done it, and honestly, we are not bad kids,” senior Allison Zhe said. “It would be a breach of tradition.”

The administration has noticed that social media is intensifying prank trends. 

“It’s become so extreme with this social media generation,” Smith said. “Everyone is driven by one-upping the last video they saw on whatever social media feed they follow. You’ll see what one person did in some place, and then all of a sudden we are trying to do it even bigger, then it gets to be too much. It becomes either dangerous or harmful to the person doing it or to other people.” 

Despite the frustration some seniors may feel, the administration is confident that banning pranks is the best way to keep everyone safe. 

“100% no pranks,” Cook said. “It just opens the door for more things to happen. We have some zero tolerance policies for certain things and usually that involves fighting, saying disparaging things about peoples’ race, or ethnicity, or culture, their sexual orientation… things of that sort. When you allow small things to happen, bigger things happen. It’s a slippery slope.”