Oh, I was great at high school pranks - and we got out-of-hand plenty of times. My bill would have been in the tens of thousands of dollars as well, if I had got caught. Fortunately, our administration was Republican-styled and (therefore) not very bright at being detectives.

I think the slackers should avoid doing permanent damage, but things like teepeeing and the like are acceptable.

Doing things that will cost $$$ to repair is the problem. I can think of a number of good ones that happened when I was in high school back in the 70’s that were more of the head-scratcher variety. For example, at homecoming there was this big flowered arch that mysteriously moved from the gym where it had been for photographs and wound up on the roof of the building.

Another time, during the winter, on a monday morning the fluorescent tubes from the hall way lighting were all missing. They were found neatly stacked above the suspended ceilings.

There was even a set of building keys that was passed from senior class to senior class to facilitate such shenanigans. We were, in my era at least, careful to not do anything that could cause permanent damage. The district was more than willing to label destruction as vandalism and go after the perpetrators. (The guy that flushed an M-80 down a toilet and blew several of them off the wall got nailed.)

I think part of the problem is that the kids don’t have any concept of a price tag being attached to their antics. You could say that’s because parents have overindulged the little darlings and that may be true. But I think it’s just the nature of being young and not particularly cognizant of how much “stuff” costs. Tearing up the ballfield or destroying the plumbing is destructive and one wonders how amusing it was even at the time. On the other hand, if your uncle’s stuffed moose head mysteriously ended up right inside the restroom door, scaring the dickens out of everybody who enters…now that would be funny! (Your uncle might be a little miffed, but your aunt would probably thank you.)

Pranks? Yes. Causing permanent, costly damage? No.

Kids have to know that this is the real world, and actions have consequences…even when you’re only joking. So be creative and have fun causing embarrassment, confusion, and/or inconvenience, but don’t hurt anyone or anything. A little cleanup maybe required, and a minor punishment maybe in order, but if done properly, the prank be worth every detention or what have you, and it’ll be something people will talk about for years to come. But safety is always first.

The moose head thing in #3 sounds interesting. I’ve heard of people using Saran Wrap, Reynolds Wrap, and even Post-it notes to do things to bosses and coworkers that are hillarious. I wish I’d thought of those. I also heard of a school that collected enough shredded paper to fill the entire office with those little strips of white to the point that it was hard for the incoming staffers to open the door on Monday. Now that’s funny. But poor old Mr. Jenkins is probably the one stuck cleaning it all…not any of the 3 Principals or his staff.

Get creative kids. Use the internet for ideas and ask some old folks if you must. But be smart and be safe.

This one is easy; no debate necessary here. “High school hijinks” should be limited to toilet paper, filling the band director’s car full of wadded-up newspaper, an obscene banner on the gym wall, the irreverent rendering of the principal on the board in home room, or maybe the delivery of 50 pizzas to the football coach’s house. We pulled all this stuff and more in high school, but nobody destroyed anything. Absolutely, the parents of the kids who destroyed the door locks should have to pay the $11 grand and the girls should face disciplinary action for malicious mischief and destruction of private property.

This is a no-brainer. If it’s a harmless prank, fine. If property is damaged and significant costs are incurred in its reparation, it’s vandalism and the culprits and/or their families should be held accountable.

To further comment on this subject….I feel that a lot of this delinquent behavior is often “justified” by the young people doing it. They play pranks in the name of rebellion because they feel repressed, neglected, bored, wronged, etc by the authorities. So, they feel their actions are a way of “getting back” at their enemies.

A lot of my delinquent behavior had its origins in being a “class-clown” and therefore getting into trouble a lot. I never made too much of a connection between the wrongdoing and the consequence; I realized I could avoid punishment by being evading detection.

So, the overt classroom disruption and/or teasing other classmates and neighborhood kids turned into covert pranks upon the kids who were “telling on me” as wellas other pranks on the authorities: parents, teachers, principals, etc. I soon discovered that I could “get away” with these things (pranks calls, spraypainting, midnight teepeeing missions) and eventually this behavior started to escalate into far more destructive actions like vandalism, burglary, and arson.

Pranks that injure others are always too much. Pranks that cause damage should be paid for immediately by those who caused them. And is someone really ready to graduate and move on to college who does something totally stupid? Leave them back a year. Let mommy and daddy defend their little darlings all they want, but as long as the taxpayers don’t have to pay for thie thrills, let ‘em loose. Since alcohol is behind a lot of it, and folks don’t seem to think it should be illegal, and feed underage kids the substance daily, what can you say? Party ON fully endorsed!!!!!!!!!!!

digressing from the subject guys….

Anyway, I think the pranks tend to escalate like we have seen because of the need of each class to outdo the previous senior class. I am not sure there is a cure for that.
I am 100% behind making the “perps” pay for their crime/damages. After all, why should the taxpayers foot the bill for such tomfoolery?

#8-10, your comments, though off topic, bring about a valid point. Why is high school pranks the “talk of the day” topic when obviously the motorcycle stories are the more likely subject of most watercooler conversation?
It is here at my location.

Hey Petey any “rider” that pulls up next to a car and throws a brick through the back window deserves to catch a little lead.

Now back to topic…..I think Freeman Bosley Sr. had it right when he proposed public canings for so-called pranksters that like to do damage to other people’s property. Charge admission, whip some butts, and the problem would be nearly non-existent.