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Hillmen Messenger

The School Newspaper of Placer High School

Hillmen Messenger

The School Newspaper of Placer High School

Hillmen Messenger

Are school rivalry pranks going too far?

Are school rivalry pranks going too far?  Some recent pranks have caused vandalism to schools.  Some pranks are less damaging than other pranks.  Some are funny, and some are cruel, but for the most part it’s all fun and games.

 For example, students put a chicken in Athletic director Mark Lee’s yard as a joke. Rumor says it was Colfax students.

 A student from Colfax ran across the field naked during a Placer playoff home game last year.  Was that a silly prank or, rumor has it, scavenger hunt?   Every sports related team has a rivalry: from the cheerleaders to the football players.

 Rivals usually come to be if the opponent is a challenge to the team.  Every school has their own rival and sometimes pranks are formed by the rivaling schools.

 For example, junior Kristie Cederloff, senior Chelsea Hudson, and a few other cheerleaders said that the Bear River cheer squad is their rival.  This rivalry started this summer when Bear River and Placer cheer went to the same cheer camp.  The two schools had learned a few of the same cheers so, now, when competition comes, Placer tries to show more spirit and spunk while performing the routine.

            “We work extra hard to show them up.  We make it happen. Go Hillmen!” said senior Chelsea Hudson.

The cheer team, like any other team, works extra hard in practice before competing against their rival.  Even though players have to be respectful and nice to each other, not all teams follow that rule.

“We have to be nice to them, but not going to lie, we do talk smack!” laughed Cederloff.

Some of the Placer cheerleaders performed a prank on the Bear River cheer squad at camp.  They went into their dorms and sprayed ketchup and placed black licorice everywhere.

“It was amazing. We wanted to use Bear River colors, and lucky for us, we had ketchup and black licorice,” explained one of the Placer cheerleaders.

A prank like that is looked at as an innocent joke; however, there have been some serious pranks dealing with a placer student defecating in a urinal at Colfax during a Placer vs. Colfax game. While it may be considered funny, it is also seen as unsanitary and cruel. Lincoln High and Wheatland high are huge rivals, and Wheatland recently decided to vandalize and write all over Lincoln’s campus.  In return, some Lincoln players went to Wheatland, and on their brand new track, Lincoln spray painted a giant penis for revenge.  No one wants to mess with Lincoln after that is a prank like that. Is a prank like that going to far? Or is it all just fun and games?

Performing pranks on the rivaling team is just all part of the game. Television portrays high school rivalries by stealing the opposing school’s mascot or creaming a float on the opposing school’s homecoming parade. Pranks are rarely carried out in this fashion anymore. Rivalries will always be present as long as there are schools. Rivalries are not negative; some healthy competition can even help to build school spirit and pride. The only things that will change are how these rivalries are viewed and acted upon – positively or negatively – and at which school these rivalries occur.

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