In honor of the unique four years the seniors have experienced at Flintridge Sacred Heart, the Veritas Shield has procured six oddly specific pranks that the senior class can easily pull off as a final hurrah before they head off to college and beyond. Instead of the usual saran-wrapping of doors or the placing of banana peels and gluing of pennies to the floor, we have some more thrilling ideas for this year’s senior class prank. 

1. Hide a few plastic snakes around campus; the stairs down to the SAC, Junior Land, Senior Patio, the walkway down to the Residential Life Hall, the amphitheater, etc. Make sure all the maintenance and safety staff know this is a prank, so every time the snake is reported, it remains in the exact same spot. If you want to be a little more mean, see if you can convince the safety staff to tell teachers they’ve handled the problem, only for them to be surprised to reencounter the same plastic snake(s). We’ll leave it up to you to decide exactly how many snakes you’d like to disperse throughout campus. Maybe you can even try some brightly colored snakes so all the science teachers know that these exotic monsters are, in fact, very venomous. Hopefully, this little surprise will serve as a gift for all those surprise pop quizzes. 

2. Have everyone in the grade (or everyone who has had Ms. Miller in the past as a teacher) bring a few plants and leave them in the chemistry lab before Ms. Miller arrives. When she walks in, she’ll be (pleasantly) surprised to discover that her science sanctuary has since been converted into a makeshift greenhouse. Aim for bigger plants, none of those measly little succulents. We’re talking long trellises of ivy cascading from down the shelves, huge pots covering every inch of her desk, one plant on each seat, and the infiltration of the lab in the back. We think she’ll enjoy all the fresh oxygen. #reduce_carbon_emissions #go_vegan #pursue_an_agriCAREER

3. This list would be incomplete without a flash mob of some sort, but instead of doing a long song everyone knows, choose a short one that most teachers wouldn’t know (which should be pretty easy since everyone over the ripe age of 18 is pretty much from the Stone Age). Agree on a specific time of day (like 12:37 p.m.) when everyone will jump out of their seats to do the dance for about 30 seconds and then sit down, almost like an impromptu TikTok dance but you must sit down as if absolutely nothing happened. When teachers ask about it, act confused and like you have no idea what they’re talking about. This should be pretty easy, since most of the time, we don’t anyway. Note: this requires dedication and the ability to maintain a straight face. 

4. This one is a little less challenging, but here at the Veritas Shield, we think it would be pretty funny to see everyone in the senior class dress in the exact same uniform. For example, everyone agrees to wear a pink skirt and a white shirt. If you want to take it a step further, collectively agree on a hairstyle or hair accessory. Channel your inner ASB and flaunt an outrageous hat for the entire day. Either way, this is your chance to redeem yourselves for all those detentions and finally make Mrs. Johnston proud by adhering to the school dress code. Reminder; this prank does NOT include Uggs or sweatpants. Don’t even think about it. 

5. And finally, we know that most teachers love drama and love to gossip, primarily about us (except Mr. Dibblee, who, while editing this, was slightly confused because he claimed to NOT know any of our student drama…). There’s no doubt that teachers know, however, who our friends are and where we sit. For one or a few days, or maybe even a week, try talking to people you’ve never talked to before. And don’t cop out by talking to people you sometimes talk to, I mean really talk to people you’ve never spoken to. We’d like to use this prank to test the true acting skills of our teachers and determine exactly how well they can conceal their confusion. Seriously, channel your inner “High School Musical” and break the status quo. Let them wonder what the church girl and the hardcore goth could possibly be laughing about or what the athlete and the activist could be huddled over their computer scheming about. The teachers will be in for the surprise of their life and have much to discuss in the teacher’s lounge about these peculiarly reassigned friend groups. If it ends up the teachers don’t actually care as much about student drama as we originally thought, fret not. Even on its own, this prank can still serve as proof of your class having achieved peak Tolog sisterhood.