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Senior prank season in full swing at Michigan high schools

The end of the school year is upon us. It puts high school administrators on high alert.

Sometimes they don't have to worry about much.

Even though their seniors try it, no, their high school won't be sold on Craigslist. Seniors at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor gave it a go. As did seniors at Freeland High School in Mid-Michigan.

This kind of prank is harmless and fun. Even the more mature members of the community can appreciate this type of prank – as this news segment shows:

But sometimes things can go farther.

A destructive food and water balloon fight seems to be the worst Ann Arbor is dealing with, according to Amy Biolichini at the Ann Arbor News:

The food fight Friday at Skyline was the largest escalation of senior prank events in Ann Arbor Public Schools this spring, Margolis said. Though there were reports of a minor prank involving chickens at Pioneer High School, Margolis said there were no other reports from the district's buildings of pranks involving damage or injury.

And a series of pranks led administrators at Mercy High School in Farmington Hills to cancel a popular end-of-year event.

According to Amy Zaniewski at the Detroit Free Pressstudents filled entranceways with cups of water and balloons, and they deployed plastic wrap and toilet paper in some areas:

Senior Hannah Gates, 18, of Novi, said about 10 to 15 people committed the Wednesday night pranks. Students cleaned up the mess in the morning, she said, but administrators were still upset and threatened to call off Moving Up. Gates said the entire senior class met with school leaders and collectively apologized, but no one claimed blame individually. After that, officials decided to cancel the ceremony, she said.

Parents were upset the event was canceled and police were called as the anger swelled.

All this conflict has led some schools to have a "zero tolerance" policy.

According to MLive's Leanne Smith, administrators at Western High School in Parma, Michigan, told students any prank will have repercussions.

They came up with another way for students to leave a "goodbye" message:

But administrators didn’t want to deny the seniors a special type of farewell, so they created what they hope will become a new tradition – a send-off lap around the school for seniors as they leave the building for the last time. On Wednesday, May 22, Western’s 196 graduating seniors donned their class color of purple, ran through the halls with helium balloons and index cards carrying inspirational messages that they could give to a staff member or underclassman.

One inspirational index card read, "stay away from drama" ... food fights or otherwise.

What's the best senior prank you have ever heard of?

Mark Brush was the station's Digital Media Director. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.
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