There are a plethora of activities that seniors have the privilege of enjoying during their last few months of high school. While there are many, students agree that the addition of an activity called Senior Assassins would truly enhance their graduating year. We at The Commander believe that UC High should adopt the Senior Assassins activity for future graduating students.

    As defined by Urban Dictionary, Senior Assassins is a game in which groups of  high school seniors are all assigned targets anonymously. The goal of the game is for an assassin to eliminate their target with a small water gun before each round ends, which is seven days. They must submit a video of the “assassination” to the senior assassins instagram page [made by student coordinators] for their target’s elimination to count. The game typically changes after each round, adding new challenges such as if an assassin eliminates their target in a specific amount of time, then they can be informed on who their assigned assassin is for that round. In the game, if you wear swim goggles or floaties then those are considered shields (urbandictionary.com).

   There are rules put in place to ensure that the game doesn’t get too chaotic. According to Point Loma Student and Senior Assassin Participant Casey Crockett, “You are not allowed to get people out at their work or during practice, but you can get them out as they are entering or leaving. You must have your floatie visible and blown up. If it isn’t visible or blown up, it doesn’t count and anyone can get you out. There are also purge days where floaties do not count as immunity — basically, anybody can get you out.”

   Many schools around San Diego, such as La Jolla High and Point Loma High, have organized or are currently organizing Senior Assassins. La Jolla High ASB Commissioner Roxy Shimp explained, “It was actually two students who organized it all. They send out Reminds with any updates they have, so we’re all on the same page.” La Jolla’s game of Senior Assassins has been in session since October and there are currently 20 students left. If other high schools in the district have been able to keep the game up for almost five months without complications, our school should be able to for future years as well.

    While some may argue that the use of water guns is too similar a scenario to school shootings, there are ways around this issue. Students can use water bottles or spray bottles to eliminate their targets instead of water guns. As long as the target gets wet and the elimination is recorded, the “kill” counts.

   While the fear of possible complications that may arise from Senior Assassins are understandable, there are ways to mitigate them. “As someone in ASB, I believe it is something we would be able to control effectively because people are already so enthusiastic about doing it that they would be willing to stay organized,” commented Senior Class Treasurer Evie Gedminas. Even if the game does turn out to be a flop, it is something worth trying in the future solely because of the immense interest the student body has expressed in wanting to play the game.

   Furthermore, the game would be a way to bring classes together as a whole. At a school as big as UC High, there are still students that have never engaged with each other throughout the past four years. Senior Assassins would be the perfect way to change this. According to Senior Class President Aila Huxford, “You can make alliances with people who you normally wouldn’t interact with, which would be a really fun way to bring students together during their last year together.”

   Additionally, the game could be used as a Senior Class fundraiser. Like La Jolla High’s model, each student who wants to participate could contribute five dollars, three of which would go towards the winner’s prize while the rest would go to funding senior activities such as Prom and Grad-Nite. This would be better than a normal fundraiser, as students would actually get to participate in something fun that they know will help the class’s tight budget.

   All in all, Senior Assassins is an activity that would do nothing but benefit each graduating class. Although it is too late to adopt for the current seniors, we at The Commander hope that the game will be implemented for later classes to enjoy.