Students run around frantically, stalking their target and preparing to leave their mark. This is “Senior Assassin”: a high stakes game which has taken SHS by storm these past few weeks.
Traditionally, to play senior assassin, students use water guns or other toys to “tag” or “eliminate” each other in a tournament style game in the weeks leading up to graduation. Every week, each student is assigned a target, and their goal is to get that person out within the span of the week, and avoid getting out themselves. Students must “tag” their target on video, as proof that they eliminated them successfully.
This year, seniors decided to use markers instead of guns, for a more hassle-free game. Instead of spraying their target, all they have to do is make a mark somewhere on their body. This can be done sneaking up from behind and drawing on their neck, getting in from the side and swiping at their arm, or pretending to drop something and quickly marking their leg. It’s clear that SHS students have gotten creative.
Around 100 members of the senior class participated this year, using GroupMe to organize proceedings. “There were students who acted as moderators, assigning point values and checking if every tag was fair, legal, and safe,” one student shared. If a tag did not follow these requirements, it was not counted as valid and the “tagged” person was not eliminated.
Some students hid behind supermarket isles as their target shopped, while others snuck into nail salons while their target received a relaxing manicure. Seniors were taken by surprise, as their friends turned on them without warning. Putting money into a weekly jackpot, students would play until an ultimate winner was determined, who would then cash in and claim the big prize.
Before Covid-19, “Senior Assassin” was a large-scale event in which a majority of the Senior Class participated. However, concerns arose among faculty and parents that the game was creating an unsafe environment, so it is no longer a school-sanctioned event. When the event was conducted at school, students ran through the halls, oblivious to their surroundings, bumping into people and falling down. Injury ensued, and the game was discouraged by the school. “Senior Assassin” is now a separate entity, and seniors try to keep it that way.
One explained that it is a “nice way to do something together with the senior class as the year is coming to an end,” and it’s like a “final goodbye.” Many expressed similar feelings, as graduation is now mere months away.
Ultimately, “Senior Assassin” is a fun yearly tradition that gets the seniors off their feet and outdoors. It is competitive and amusing, and keeps them entertained as their high school journeys come to a close.
Who will top this year’s charts?
