Alumni recall senior shenanigans
By: Joonwoo Park
When the leaves fall in bright colors and the wind blows colder, nothing beats reading inside with the luxury of a heater. On such an October day, I was perusing through an old December 1973 Matrix newspaper when I came across this:
According to the article, it has been a tradition since 1967 for the senior class to illegally paint the water tower across Route 33. The article then goes on to describe the captivating plight of the junior class to claim the water tower with a huge “74” in the summer of 1972. This made me wonder, what other crazy things have past senior, or even junior, classes done at AHS?
After conducting multiple wary interviews with staff at AHS and scrolling through way too forthright Facebook posts on the Athens High School Alumni group (I created a fake identity), here’s what I’ve found out so far.
On Lam, class of ‘84, claims that the class of ‘81 “completely painted [the vice principal’s office] in pink with the exception of one cinder that was left completely in original white paint.” Upon investigating this lead, I found an article in the October 1982 Matrix newspaper that references Dave McAllister’s “formerly pink office.” Unfortunately, it seems that this prank was short-lived.
Social studies teacher Mark Chapman, who graduated from AHS in the late 90s, can safely claim that he did not partake in any illegal activities. “We had ambitions, but by the end of the school year we all became too lazy.”
However, after prodding Chapman to dig deeper into his salad days, he recalled the prank where the seniors of ‘95 released hundreds of crickets above the ceiling. This was, of course, during finals week. “I didn’t enjoy that,” Chapman remarks.
Another popular prank is the motorcycle drive-through. Basically, someone drives their motorcycle from one end of the school to the other. Recall last year when a student who shall remain unnamed drove their bike through the hallways. According to Facebook (take it with a grain of salt), an Abdella crashed his bike through glass at the end of the hallway in ‘78. There are multiple such stories throughout the 70s.
Perhaps one of the most disruptive pranks involved a tub of superglue and the doors in the English hallway. Here is a nice visual I found lurking in the May 1982 Matrix newspaper:
There are many more stories from past AHS alumni to share, but circumstances are tenuous and some of these stories come from questionable sources. Personally, I find these stories to be very entertaining and will probably continue investigating a few eye-catching ones (two words: greasy pigs).
Over the years, the water tower has sported ‘81, ‘82, ‘83, “Chevy Rules” and ‘84. But this tradition lost its routine when the ladder from the tower was removed in 84. If you are insane, you can find a detailed step-by-step instruction on painting the water tower in the October 1983 Matrix newspaper. The article states that painting the water tower “takes time, patience, skill and a complete lack of respect for yourself and the law.”
When asked for his opinion on senior pranks, Principal Chad Springer said he discourages pranks but delicately concedes that “some can be harmless.” Springer draws attention to a “particularly funny” prank where seniors exchanged lures for diplomas at graduation. This was with Principal Danny Ward, but note Springer used to be an avid fisher too.
Remember, “Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest.”
Note: The Matrix does not support potentially harmful, illegal or otherwise dangerous pranks. We stand by what Chapman says. “The best ones are those that don’t do any lasting damage, don’t negatively impact other people, but are witty, funny and creative.”