Assassin Opposers Put Up Signs, Supporters Tear Down
March 4, 2018
There has been a notable divide between supporters and opposers of the marker tag game usually known as “Assassin.”
On Friday, March 2, some student opponents of the game spent their frees putting up signs “Assassin Not Welcome Here. Ask Me Why” and “Assassin: I’m Not Playing. Ask Me Why.”
The previous night Gillian Schneider ’18 and others had commented their thoughts against the game in the Assassin Facebook group but “once we voiced our opinions, we were kicked out and the comments were deleted,” said Schneider.“We were trying a new avenue to open the doorway to civilized discourse about the topic so that everyone is well informed in making their decision to play or not,” said Schneider.
They hoped the “Not Welcome Here” signs, which were made for teacher classroom doors, would serve a similar purpose and facilitate a discussion between teachers and students. The signs were handed to teachers if they expressed distaste for the game. “Many classes didn’t have discussions about Assassin, so we wanted the teachers to be able to voice their side of the story [and] help give students a different perspective,” said Schneider.
But other students viewed the sign as an attack. “There is already discussion and the signs don’t say ‘Let’s discuss,’ they say ‘Listen to why my opinion is right,’” said an anonymous senior, who did not want to use her name in fear of being attacked.
Within an hour, student supporters of the game had taken down many of the “I’m Not Playing” signs. “We were obviously disappointed that they continued to not want to engage in a conversation, but rather shut out our side. That being said, we will continue to try and have the open dialogue that we are striving for,” said Schneider.
