Just as surely as night follows day, senior pranks occur nearly every year at WS; some of them more acceptable than others.

In the recent past, some pranks have included making a commotion through the hallways (class of ’10), starting a food fight (class of ’11), and parking on Rolling Road, which is usually designated for juniors (class of ’12).

The reason I am talking about senior pranks so early in the year is because of the slew of pranks the seniors carried out. On the first day of school, seniors set their phone alarms to go off in their lockers at a predetermined time, which resulted in confiscation. More recently, seniors wrapped the so-called “Junior Rail” in Saran wrap, which resulted in the probation of two SGA officers, even though the wrappings stayed up for only minutes. The next day, seniors got cozy placed a couch, with permission, at Senior Rail.

As much fun as these pranks add to our day, before going through with it, the pranksters must consider the consequences of their actions and ask themselves, “What constitutes an appropriate prank?” I believe that these pranks are appropriate, and my only suggestion is to possibly lay off, because pranks will not be as much fun if we have one every day.

To me, the ideal prank is best played on the safe side. As much as I hate to be a “fun-sucker,” the best practical jokes are light-hearted and won’t get people in trouble. They should not humiliate or harm anyone (the food-fight was essentially how not to do a senior prank). Also, it is in the best interests of everyone if no property is damaged.

Another thing to consider is the interruption of education. While students often forget, it is important to remember that the primary reason for attending school is to learn, not to impress their peers with their comedic skills. An ideal prank may cause a brief interruption, but anything that diverts the class’s attention from the lesson for more than a few minutes becomes a major nuisance to the teacher and to the students who are actually trying to learn. While the antics might be funny for the moment, it won’t be so funny to sit out of graduation.

While this does narrow down the options quite a bit, there are still plenty of choices for “acceptable” senior pranks.

For a prank to go well, the participants need to communicate and collaborate on the planned events. If the planner decided to nix a component of the prank, he needs to spread the message to all participants so that they can act cohesively in their mischief.

An example of what I consider to be an appropriate yet fun prank is covering things, such as cars, with a multitude of sticky notes. Why do I consider this an ideal prank? It does no permanent damage to property, harms no one (physically or emotionally), and causes nothing but mild annoyance and amusement for the victim of the prank, since he or she has to remove them.

Before a prankster goes through with the prank, he must ask himself, “What am I risking? Who will potentially get mad at me? And most importantly, how mad will they be at me?”

But remember, have fun with it!