Pioneer High School scavenger hunt a no-go for 2012 seniors?
Pioneer High School students may not carry out the school's annual tradition of a senior scavenger hunt this year, after the class of 2011 took the tradition to an illegal level.
Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Dwight Burdette
A tradition that is at least 10 years old in Ann Arbor may be broken, said Principal Michael White.
"We have not heard anything at all this year in reference to it," he said. “And usually we hear something about whether or not it’s going to take place.
He added: “To my knowledge, it only got out of hand the one year.”
In 2011, about 250 seniors took part in the tradition. It resulted in $2,800 in damage to two rival Ann Arbor high schools and 31 suspensions.
The scavenger hunt, similar to a road rally, involves teams of students competing to finish a list of tasks for points. The more outlandish or difficult the task, the more points up for grabs.
Students do not have to complete all of the tasks to win. They simply need to accumulate the greatest number of points. The team with the most points takes home a pot of cash that students contribute to in order to participate, White said.
Items on last year’s list included defecating on athletic fields at Skyline and Huron high schools, spray painting the letter 'P' on school property and cutting down nets at Huron’s tennis courts.
Michael White
He has heard generally from his staff that the scavenger hunt does not appear to be an interest of this year’s class, he said. Administrators have warned students about the hunt at every chance they’ve had this school year and will again on Friday as seniors pick up their caps and gowns.
“Oh yeah, they’ve gotten more than an earful,” White said with a chuckle. “Anytime we've talked about graduation or the all-night party, anytime we had the senior class together, it was discussed. They probably got sick of hearing about it.
“We didn’t say don’t do it. We don’t mind if they have fun, but they have to be smart. And we encouraged them to have a trusted adult look over the list.”
District spokeswoman Liz Margolis added that the 2012 student council presidents have stated they do not want to organize the scavenger hunt.
In White’s five years as principal, the hunt typically has occurred the week prior to the seniors’ last days, which began Monday. So the scavenger hunt should have taken place the weekend of May 18, he said.
There also have been rumors that students are waiting until after the June 7 graduation.
White said if students do participate after graduation and make poor choices like last year’s class, they will be on their own.
“They’ll really be in the legal system this year because we’d have no grounds to discipline them,” he said.
Last year, the school requested to handle the situation internally, White said. He suspended seniors who participated in the illegal activities for their last five days of school and charged them $90 in restitution for the damages to the other high schools. They also were banned from attending the all-night senior party after graduation.
He said the kids were decent kids, many college-bound, who had never given the school a problem before.
“This year, if they choose to do something, there is nothing to stop the law from affecting them. They’d all get criminal records. What we did last year was light by comparison to what could have happened to these kids,” White said. “It'd cost their families a lot of money in legal fees, too.”
The school was criticized for how it handled what was called a “senior prank,” and White in particular was accused of becoming “very angry” and even coercing students into confessing their involvement in the crimes.
But White said last year’s incident was not a senior prank. “It was downright nasty and breaking the law.
“A senior prank is doing something to your school — water balloons, putting a car in the swimming pool, the Big Boy on the roof — not what they did, trespassing and defacing school property.”
He said in the few years before he was hired at Pioneer, the seniors brought in chicken guts and pig blood and had a large-scale food fight that got “completely out of control.”
“That’s why I came in so mean and so harsh. People allowed this kind of behavior at Pioneer for many, many years. … Good kids were thinking that having escalating pranks were the norm, that making poor choices was the cool thing to do.”
He said there have been zero senior pranks in his five years at Pioneer, something he hopes will continue, despite his leaving in June to take a principal position in Illinois.
Staff reporter Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.
Comments
Rose Garden
Mon, May 28, 2012 : 2:12 p.m.
The prank of my son's class 30 years ago was to fertilize the emerging yellowish Spring grass into huge letters that spelled "Huron High Class of 82." This area became green and tall before the rest of the lawn and could be seen from the upper floors of the school. Cute and harmless "prank."
scott a
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 10:39 p.m.
Senior all-night party was really not that fun. These kids are probably just waiting until after they graduate to do this anyway. Props to them for being smart, and I wonder if they can be half as wild as '11.
jwally
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 6:39 p.m.
Favorite senior pranks I've seen over the years: Pioneer High in the late 60's or early 70's- Mickey Mouse hands on the big outdoor clock. Huron High in the 70's and 80's- refer leaf painted on the domed gym roof. All A2 high schools in the 70's+ (don't forget about Community High).....Streaking! Classic and harmless. Would love to hear your favorites.
jns131
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 2:29 p.m.
I mentioned mine above. Paul Bunyan. Still wondering how they got it up there.
Tony Livingston
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 3:47 p.m.
Seriously? Putting a car in a swimming pool is a prank and cutting a tennis net is vandalism? I am sure it would cost more than $2800 to get a car out of a pool. The problem last year was that White punished people who were simply in the car in the same way he punished students who did the dirty deeds. Saying parents were angry is a gross understatement!
ronald
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:58 p.m.
Putting a car in the swimming pool is a prank??? $20,000 car in the pool a prank. Cutting down a $500 tennis net vandalism? I'm confused. And we ask why are education system is falling behind.
alex
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 6:04 a.m.
i agree that putting a car in a pool is absolutely ridiculous but i highly doubt that even these high school kids would put a car in a pool that costs 20K and if they did, then they should pay for it. I assume the car we're talking about probably isn't even a running car or it was sold for $300.
Blerg
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 1:23 p.m.
When my PHS class did the scavenger hunt, and this was WAY more than 10 years ago, we had to get things that didn't involve stealing but rather ransacking our garages for a boat oar and begging the KFC drive thru for an empty bucket that the chicken goes in. There are plenty of fun things to find that don't involve pooing all over the city (both literally and figuratively!).
Julie
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 10:39 a.m.
It gets a little costly for the subdivisions in AA when the street and stop signs in the neighborhoods go missing every year during the scavenger hunt.
jns131
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:58 p.m.
You just have to remember to stop when it does. Someone hit our stop sign and stole the street sign. Made for an interesting morning.
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 7:31 a.m.
i'd take poop on the lawn over a car in a pool any day
kindred spirit
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 4:41 a.m.
From what I understand, the boys' bathroom and the locker room often have feces in them. It's just that that doesn't get publicized. Ask your child about it.
alex
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 7:32 a.m.
there's poop everywhere!
Klayton
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 3:39 a.m.
Too bad the senior "prank" could not be a positive scavenger hunt like 1) Go find a home damaged by the tornado in Dexter and help for an hour 2) Serve meals at the homeless shelter 3) Come up with a way to raise money for a charity of your choice 4) Open the door for someone 5) Pay the bill for the person behind you in line 6) Tell someone you love them 7) Make dinner for your family It could still be fun, but it builds people up (not down)
scott a
Thu, May 24, 2012 : 10:46 p.m.
You just don't get it
paulczar
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:39 a.m.
According to Pioneer's Principal: "A senior prank is doing something to your school — water balloons, putting a car in the swimming pool, the Big Boy on the roof — not what they did, trespassing and defacing school property." What? So putting a car in the pool or stealing a Big boy Statue and putting it on the roof doesn't is okay? It doesn't involve any form of trespassing or the defacing of school or private property? A car in the pool will certainly cost a lot of money to remove the car and replace all the contaminated water. Something tells me he would not be okay with the car in the pool or the Big Boy prank if it was pulled off today. I understand the gist of what he is trying to say, but 2/3 of the examples he gave would not sit well with the Principal if they were pulled off today. So basically, he is saying my generation did some pretty messed, up deplorable stuff too, but it was "back on the day when I was a kid, and we were just kids being kids" but tisk tisk, don't you ever pull that same stuff today or you will face legal repercussions. It comes across as pretty hypocritical. This time of year always brings up the "How far is too far debate RE: Senior Pranks"
Ricardo Queso
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:56 a.m.
It's all a load of crap I say!
KMHall
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:10 a.m.
The pranksters will pay again when they run for public office. Oops.
Halter
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:29 a.m.
I would be offended if it wasn't true...
Topher
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 11:08 p.m.
It's sad that senior pranks have to be so destructive or purposeless - I guess it's much less cool to do something constructive that leaves a positive legacy?
JRW
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:31 p.m.
Personally, I'm glad they may wait until after graduation. Let them get arrested for the vandalism, theft and destruction that these seniors think are pranks. It doesn't matter who these kids are, good kids or otherwise. Breaking the law is breaking the law. Good kids don't defecate on school property. Go for it after June 7 and pay the price, which is what should have happened last year.
JRW
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:21 p.m.
"Last year, the school requested to handle the situation internally, White said. He suspended seniors who participated in the illegal activities for their last five days of school and charged them $90 in restitution for the damages to the other high schools. They also were banned from attending the all-night senior party after graduation. He said the kids were decent kids, many college-bound, who had never given the school a problem before." Decent kids who chose to defecate on the athletic field at city high schools. Read decent.
julieswhimsies
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:03 p.m.
I think the students burned that bridge last year.
listen
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 9:57 p.m.
So water balloons, putting a car in the swimming pool and the Big Boy on the roof are just senior pranks, not trespassing or defacing school property because it's your own school?? Interesting interpretation. Mr. White seems to have extensive legal knowledge. How very beneficial for Pioneer students.
Silly Sally
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 11:46 p.m.
What would the silly Mr. White say if it were HIS car in the pool? He'd cry for their heads, I'd bet. WHat if it were one o his CHristmas decorations? Basic training target practice?
jns131
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:57 p.m.
I wonder if they put the water balloons in the freezer?
paulczar
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 2:56 a.m.
I completely agree with you. I thought that quote was very interesting.
JRW
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:32 p.m.
Who's car gets to be totally damaged by putting it in the pool? Who pays to get it out? This is malicious destruction of property, not a prank.
Dennis
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 9:23 p.m.
I did the scavenger hunt when I was a Senior (2002) and I think it went pretty well with little damage. The only thing we took that was of value were golf flags from a few local golf courses and the people who organized the event returned them afterwards. The feces thing is a little overboard but I see no reason to scrap the scavenger hunt entirely.
Silly Sally
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 11:42 p.m.
The Ann Arbor Police are too busy being parked on Main Street in front of Pioneer waiting for a "speeder" going 41 MPH.
Dennis
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 6:40 p.m.
The Ann Arbor City Police didn't seem to mind, they were the one who told us it wasn't a problem as long as they are returned before the morning. Like I said, I don't advocate defecating on rival schools field, or vandalizing private property but kids driving around town taking picture of themselves doing ridiculous things is no big deal to me. Occasionally you will have people who go overboard and they should be punished.
Halter
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:27 a.m.
You see nothing wrong with stealing private property from business that rely on those materials? Really? It's illegal and a police-enforceable offense....
JRW
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:23 p.m.
Stealing and vandalism is far more than a "little overboard." They are illegal activities for which perps should be arrested.
Forever27
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:31 p.m.
"defecating on school property." -see, this is why we can't have nice things!
justcurious
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 7:54 p.m.
"Generally, the "popular kids" or student council members create the list of items, White said, adding the scavenger hunt is not a school-sanctioned event." "He said in the few years before he was hired at Pioneer, the seniors brought in chicken guts and pig blood and had a large-scale food fight that got "completely out of control." "That's why I came in so mean and so harsh. People allowed this kind of behavior at Pioneer for many, many years. … Good kids were thinking that having escalating pranks were the norm, that making poor choices was the cool thing to do." What does this tell us about Ann Arbor and how the kids are being brought up folks?
dancinginmysoul
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 11:46 p.m.
Assume much? Stop taking a few incidents committed by a small group of students and extrapolate how all children in Ann Arbor are raised.
a2citizen
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 11:12 p.m.
Agreed. I went to high school in Detroit and do not ever recall chicken guts in a food fight. But I do seem to recall a gun fight at a McDonalds and a yearly race riot.
JRW
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:26 p.m.
Agree totally. Throwing around the entrails of animals? Defecating on school property? This tells me a lot about how high school students are being brought up in A2. Poorly and without values. The punishments last year were nothing more than slaps on the wrist. All of them should have been arrested and had to go through the legal system.
Forever27
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:32 p.m.
it says that when kids do stupid things (not isolated to A2) the school punished them for it. Why do you take every story (of which you comment on many) and make it an indictment of Ann Arbor? If you hate this town so much, why are you constantly reading the city's news?
63Townie
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:28 p.m.
Good lord, punishments were handed out for last year. To say that an isolated incident is an indictment on how Ann Arbor kids are being raised is ridiculous.
smokeblwr
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 7:47 p.m.
I just went back and read the article from last year (and the awesome comments, some even by me!). It seems that Mr. White was very proactive with his punishments of the poopetrators. So much so that parents and students were complaining he was too hard on them and needed to loosen up. I think THIS is the reason we have no talk of further scatalogical shenanigans this year as Mr. White scared this year's crop of potential malodorous miscreants straight. Bless you Mr. White! We'll miss you.
Halter
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 12:24 a.m.
Parents in Ann Arbor will ALWAYS complain that the rules and regulations are too hard...its a problem city wide that when things like this occur you get parents supporting their kids shenanigans rather then common sense and safety.
a2citizen
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 11:07 p.m.
Yes...he scared the crap out of this years crop.
jns131
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:04 p.m.
Why do I feel like I am inside an Dickens novel?
BobbyTarsus
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 9:32 p.m.
"Scatalogical'? It's getting deep now =)
smokeblwr
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 7:35 p.m.
Here is hoping for a feces-free graduation!
leezee
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 7:33 p.m.
....Big Boy on the roof.....hmmmm....now there's and idea.
dmyy20
Wed, May 23, 2012 : 3:43 a.m.
In my friends hs in grosse point, the seniors used to steal it every year and put it on the roof. Now the restaurant just gives it to the seniors each year as a tradition or something crazy like that
ummsw
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:53 p.m.
Real Estate "For Sale" signs all over the Stadium side lawn...I think mid 80's..
jns131
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 10:03 p.m.
Remember Paul Bunyan? Class of 80?
TheGerman
Tue, May 22, 2012 : 8:56 p.m.
That was my senior class. Great prank!