How far is too far? This is a question many seniors ask themselves as they do what it takes to get their target in Lakeland High School’s (LHS) Senior Assassin.
It can be a terrifying and paranoia-filled experience.
Constantly looking over their shoulder as they walk from place to place, waiting to be caught by their assassin.
Senior Assassin is a game exclusive to the senior class.
It is a game where each student participating is given the name of another participating senior as a target and is challenged to assassinate that person before switching targets.
An assassination occurs by getting sprayed with water, traditionally by a water gun.
Hence, the reason why this game is also known as Senior Splashin’.
But what are the boundaries on where they can go?
Surprisingly, workplaces are not off limits. This means if a student is caught on the job with no protective gear their participation is on the line.
It can also cause issues when a student is working during purge hours. The purge is every Friday from seven p.m. to twelve a.m. This means that no one is safe within those hours and any target is fair game.
“Everyone knowing my location is unsettling,” Carter Vanek said. “I don’t like that.”
This leaves many students worried that they will be taken out when working.
Many students are sure to gear up with goggles or pool floaties to put those worries to rest.
Even on the first day, students were targets at their workplace.
Being shot by a squirt gun through the window, students’ participation in the game came to an end.
At the beginning of the game, multiple rules are set to make sure everything is fair and appropriate.
“I work in a kitchen and so that would have been not good if I had participated in this game because food and water do not mix well,” Vanek said.
For example, places that are off limits are church, sporting events, and lastly school.
These guidelines are put into place to ensure that there are no disciplinary actions involved and that it does not get too out of hand.
However, a rule that was changed this year was workplaces being fair game.
“I feel like you shouldn’t be able to get them through the window or in any way interfere with their work,” Annalie Terzulli said.
This has caused a few uproars due to bosses not letting them wear protective gear because it looks unprofessional and also leads to the fear of losing a job.
This rule being cast out has become a controversial situation and topic for those participating.
“I feel like the parking lot should be fair game because I feel like it would be more fun that way,” Elizabeth Duce said.
Which I think is a reasonable rule adjustment.
Students also need to be careful with engaging in this activity.
For example, on April 25 Coeur D’ Alene High School (CHS) was placed into a lockdown due to a student with what looked to be a gun.
It later was revealed that it was just a student participating in Senior Assassin that had their squirt gun on them.
Students just need to make sure that they are aware of where they are at and need to make sure it is an appropriate place to participate.
This is because this game can lead to misunderstandings of students causing others harm when really it is just an activity to be enjoyed by students.
