Senior assassin is a game that was developed for the entertainment of high school seniors — a last hoorah before graduating. The game is student run and is not affiliated with Franklin, with seniors Wrigley Cook, Elliot Silva, and Lucas Lash leading the game this year. The objective of the game is to eliminate your assigned target by tracking them down and spraying them with a water gun. While trying to eliminate your target, you must also be vigilant of those around you in order to survive in the game and avoid being eliminated yourself. Both of these aspects are important as to advance to the next round, you must “kill” your target and not be “killed” yourself. Many Franklin staff do not love this game because of its use of water guns and the prevalence of gun violence in our community, so it’s especially important to follow all the guidelines to minimize any harm.
A few tips and tricks for surviving playing senior assassin include: making alliances with other students, turning off any location tracking information your peers may have, informing your parents about your participation in the game, and always being cautious towards anyone who could present danger — you never know who could be a threat to you during the game, even with your closest friends. Additionally, as Franklin’s senior assassin Instagram page @fhs.senior.as.sassin reports, during round one, you could grant yourself immunity by wearing an inflatable pool donut around your waist.
Cook, Silva, and Lash created a Google Form for all seniors who wanted to participate to fill out during the first week of May. Round one pairings were released on May 9, marking the start of round one which ended on May 14 at 11:59 p.m.. The following week, on May 16, the second-round pairings were released with round two ending on May 29.
When asked how pairings are formed, Silva explains, “[Whichever] seniors sign up [with] the form will be entered into a Google sheet, and [from there each senior] will be randomly assigned to another senior.” Once each senior gets their pairing they “will then be responsible for ‘assassinating’ [spraying] that senior with a water gun,” says Silva. Cook clarifies that, because the pairings are chosen at random, your target will not also be your assassin.
Starting on May 23, the third and final round begins. This round looks a little different because the round is a free-for-all, and all remaining participants can go after anyone who is left. At the end of the round, the top five players with the most “kills” will receive a prize. This year, the prize is a donation-based cash reward. Seniors who sign up are encouraged — but not required — to donate $2 to $4. Additionally, there will be gold, silver, and bronze medals for the first, second, and third-place contestants.
The most important rules that all participating seniors must abide by are that once “killed” you are eliminated from the game, and that individuals can only enter personal property if invited by a resident of the property — whether that be someone’s target’s parent, siblings, or other member of their household. A few other rules for playing senior assassin here at Franklin include: no “kills” are allowed to be carried out on school property or at school-related events — though Clinton Park and off-campus lunch are acceptable; no attacks may occur after dark or at participants’ places of work; participants must use a water gun; record the “kill” with video proof to confirm the authenticity, and report the “kill” to the senior assassin’s Instagram, @fhs.senior.as.sassin. All videos of “kills” will be posted on this instagram throughout the rounds.
Recently there has been discussion among Franklin students regarding the idea that senior assassin could be expanded to include all upperclassmen at Franklin. When interviewing various Franklin students, some agreed with the idea that the game should be open to more students while others were strictly of the opinion that it should be a senior only activity.
Seniors Mylee Singer and Rowan Horner, along with junior Tate Young, all argue that senior assassin should be exclusive to seniors. Singer supports this argument explaining, “I think [underclassmen] can wait their turn.” Singer adds that she sees bonding take place among the senior class because the game “allows people who have never really interacted with each other in the four years [they’ve] gone to school together to finally meet each other before [the seniors] all leave.”
Others argue that juniors should be allowed to participate in senior assassin, like seniors Kwaje Laila and Ethan Aman. They both see the game as being an opportunity for all students at Franklin to have fun, and less of a bonding experience for the graduating class. Laila says, “Everybody should be able to participate since it’s a fun end-of-the-school-year tradition.” Aman agrees, stating, “I don’t see a problem with other grades joining, since it’s a fun school tradition that should be celebrated.”
Regardless of whether the senior assassin game becomes integrated with other grades, it’s important to abide by the rules established for the game as well as respect the other participants so the game can continue in future years. That said, seniors: remember to spread the word and watch your back!
