This year, the senior class decided to bring back an internet-viral end-of-year senior game: Senior Assassin. However, about two days into the fun, the game was banned by Poly administration, and senior privileges to leave campus were revoked until May 1. 

Senior Assassin, typically played with water balloons or water guns, is a game brought to Poly this year by 2022-2023 spirit captains Olivia Umeh and Justin Mondesir as a fun way to end their last school year in high school. The objective of the game is to be the last one that was not hit by their assassin. At the start, everyone is randomly assigned a target; they then have to sneak up on them during the day and throw their water balloon at them. If the balloon hits the target and breaks, that person is out and their target is passed on to their assassinator. 

Senior Assassin at Poly has become an annual senior activity hosted by the senior class. In previous years “It was kind of a surprise that water balloons were on campus,” said Jared Winston, director of student life.

Winston remarked that “this year’s senior class did a better job of communicating with us.” Because of this, after a day of the game was played, administrators found out and were able to make certain rules clear.

These rules included the following: “Any water balloon activity inside ANY of our buildings will result in the following: “Off-campus privileges revoked for the entire grade for the remainder of the school year [and] no senior class trip in June,” wrote Sarah Bates, head of upper school, in an email to the senior class on April 17.

However, Poly staff members soon noticed the game was getting out of control, and the maintenance staff was working hard to pick up after all of the plastic snapped balloons left over on the floor, described Winston. He also noted how the balloons on the floor of Poly’s campus “are terrible for our environment.”

Only two days into the game, Bates sent out another email to the senior class stating: “We have been extremely patient with you this week, though it seems as though you do not understand the consequences of your decisions. A member of our staff and two campus guests were hit with water balloons this morning. Per my note below, starting on Monday, April 24 all off-campus privileges for the entire senior class are revoked indefinitely. This means you will not be able to leave campus for lunch or during your free periods. Security is cc’d on this email, as well. 

Dr. Bates and I were scheduled to put down a deposit today on your class trip in June. This is also on hold until you can prove to us that you deserve the energy, time, and money that would go into making this happen for you.” 

“It was confusing and it was very sad because the faculty knew we were having fun, but they shut it down without giving us a lot of clarity,” said senior Hayden Lewis.

A week later, another mass email was sent to the senior class saying that the seniors had proven their maturity and earned back their senior privileges starting on May 1.

Despite some senior disappointment in the cancellation of Senior Assassin, Winston agrees that “I love fun. I do. I love that which brings us together. There are ways we can do that without compromising our values… I am excited to see what comes of Senior Assassin in the future.”