On Tuesday afternoon, midway through the day, the legendary game “assassin” played by the seniors who are to leave at the end of this week for their internships were told they are not allowed to play in school anymore.
An afternoon announcement made by Principal Cohen stated that the “assassin game” could no longer be played on school grounds and anyone who continues could lose their chances of going to prom. “The game was very disruptive towards the flow of the school day,” said Mr. Cohen.
Assassin is a game that has been traditionally played by any senior who has signed up to participate and takes place during the school day. To play assassin each senior is “armed” with a sharpie and they are assigned an unsuspecting person who they have to mark. Once you tag your “victim” their target is now your target.
The rules of the game included not being able to “tag” your person in the classroom, in the library, or in the bathroom. But many seniors found loopholes around it by going to their classes early so they wouldn’t get caught.
Senior Daniel Abarca said, “Students should be more respectful to their classmates for sure. People were jumping on people’s cars to get kills and marking their targets [with Sharpies] on their faces and necks. It’s fun but people need[ed] to tone it down.”
Many teachers were unhappy that the annual tradition was starting again.
“It was very dangerous and disruptive. The kids should not be running around the school with shoes on their hands. It distracts everyone for everyday activities,” said art teacher Ms. Tetro.
But students were predictably upset with the decision.
“We’re seniors and we deserve to have some fun in our last week as seniors,” said senior Ben Hunt.
English teacher Mr. Groven said, “At first I was disappointed because it seemed as if the seniors had finally figured out how to run the game appropriately. After I heard about the incidents that got the game cancelled, I understood the schools position.”
