The end of the year is a time for celebration and fun games, but for students at Burroughs High School it means the return of an exciting activity: the Senior Assassin game.
The game, which involves seniors “assassinating” each other with water guns, has been a source of fun for many students.
“I wanted to max out the senior year experience and have fun with my friends doing it,” said senior Jayani Croos-Peterson.
The game has returned this year, with dozens of seniors signing up to participate. The game is being coordinated by senior Kenese Lutu, who is using an app to organize the various rounds.
“As adminn, I do get a lot of questions about the rules and it’s funny because everyone is trying to find loopholes,” said Lutu. “But for the most part I would say the rules are fair and reasonable.”
The rules are simple: each student is assigned a target, and must “assassinate” that target by squirting them with a water gun. Once the target has been “killed”, that student receives a new target and the game continues until only one person remains.
The competition has been intense.
“From seven in the morning till ten at night, I did not know if someone was staking out at my house because my assassin had my location at all times,” said Croos-Peterson.
Although your job is to “assassinate” people, you are not allowed to bring water guns to school and you must play off the grounds. While off the grounds students must carry pool supplies around such as goggles or a pool noodle, or else they can get “killed”.
Although the game sounds combative, it’s actually had the effect of bringing the class together.
As the game went on, seniors began noticing students who normally do not talk to each other interacting.
“Seeing the senior class work together to get others out was the best part of the game,” said Croos-Peterson.
Whether you see it as harmless fun or a wild distraction, there’s no denying that the Senior Assassin game has become an enjoyable tradition for many students.
Right now the students are on round four, with 30 people left out of the 57 who originally began.
Mika Rull-Hildreth is one senior who is still in the mix. So far she has eliminated three people, K’Mani Ross, Lilah Benckendorf, and Elijah Winston.
“They weren’t prepared for the sneaky Meeky,” said Rull-Hildreth. “I try to eliminate my opponents by figuring out their daily schedule – What time do they work? Do they have a free period? And I try to shoot them during their free time.”
Lutu is hopeful that other classes will continue the tradition when their time comes.
“My only tip for people playing Senior Assassin is to not take it too seriously and just try to have fun with everyone,” said Lutu.
