Each and every year, high school seniors from around the world participate in a “Senior Prank” where students play an organized but unsanctioned prank on the school and its faculty. The “Senior Prank” as it is referred to in the United States is called a “muck-up day” in the U.K. and Australia, where the tradition is also commonly observed. Viral videos of fellow seniors from across the nation show elaborate pranks such as a concrete filled ovens placed in the middle of campus, proving next to impossible to remove by the staff.

Bellarmine has also been the site for many senior pranks over the years including one a number of years ago where students packed the halls of the (formerly called) A building with filled water cups. However, this year, a viral video that has made its way through the halls of Bellarmine shows a large “bathroom rave” where tens if not hundreds of students were packed into a small restroom, dancing and jumping around to loud music resembling a large party.

Spurred on by the idea of such an event on school grounds, a number of seniors laid the plan for such a rave. After some brainstorming and communication, the plans were ready to be executed. The date: Wednesday, June 1 was the last day for seniors; the time: 12:45 p.m. was set; the location: B building bathroom was clearly defined. All the seniors had to do was wait for the time and carry out the plan. At 12:45 p.m. students began to leave their classroom but word had spread too effectively and the elaborate plan had been foiled.

An anonymous source detailed the events, “Gradually people filtered in. When the bathroom reached about 15 capacity Ms. [Mary] Rink told us to leave the bathroom. We scrambled and acted natural, flushing toilets and washing our hands. After a few more minutes,  Ms. [Cari] Harrison walked in and at that moment the speaker turned on, playing a loud tune in the midst of the awkward silence. People were lined up against the lockers and pulled into the faculty office where we pleaded our case and were told just not to mess up within the next 80 minutes.”

Originally an elaborate and innocent scheme for some fun was turned on its head and immediately taken care of.

“It was kind of pathetic if I am being honest,” said senior Tashi Landers-Quinn, one of the bystanders who witnessed the beginnings of the prank unfold.

The Bellarmine Lion talked to many others including an anonymous source who, like many others, said,  “I was planning on waiting a few minutes before I turned up. I am glad I did because I did not want to get caught.”

The story does not end here. Directly after the event, whisperings of another attempt at the prank were spreading fast but far more discreet. Finally, at 1:30 p.m., in the final hour of the senior’s senior year, the prank went off without a hitch. The Snyder bathroom filled with students, packed in wall to wall, the lights switched off and the party lights lit up the beige ceilings with red, green, and blue.

“It was great,” said another anonymous source. “It may have not been as big as we had hoped
but it was fun and harmless.”

Another witness said, “I wasn’t really sure what was happening, but I’m always there for a good time.”

In the end, the prank went off in a way quite apropos for the senior class. Tested by years of uncertainty due to the pandemic, this class continuously reinvented itself and took challenges head on, and had a fun time doing it.