High School ’07 Senior Pranks

After thinking about VisionPDX, which I don’t care much about, this post covers five things I care about very much. I care a lot about raising children in Oregon, having worked hard at it 24/7/365 for the past twenty years. I care passionately about Portland’s public schools, as the gateway to a future of equity and community success. I care about fair, open process. I care about ending the war in Iraq, and working for peace. And I care about people being able to laugh and being able to forget about serious things occasionally.

I care about other things, too, but those five come together for this post. Earlier this week, various media covered a 2007 Wilson High School Senior Prank, in which students planted 2,000 marigolds in the shape of the peace sign in a campus lawn. Today, Oregonlive and my offspring are reporting that one student owned up to participating in the prank. She now faces a bill of up to $1,000 for professional restoration of the lawn, since no other students stepped forward. This despite the Principal’s reported call for students “to take responsibility, not punishment”.

Let’s. Get. Real. Portland Public Schools 1J is a school district that has cut its ground maintenance staff so much that community volunteers have to pitch in several times a year to hack back the weeds. A school district where some areas of grass are left unmown for lack of maintenance funds. A school district with an admirable pesticide-free landscaping policy, so we’re not talking here about the grass at Lord’s, the home of the Marylebone Cricket Club. “Lawns” at Wilson and all other Portland Public Schools are liberally sprinkled with daisies, buttercups, dandelions, and various other flowered and weedy plants. Trust me, a half hour yanking out the marigolds followed with a little grass seed sprinkled in the holes, water if needed … by the end of the summer, the only difference will be the places where the marigolds were will be in slightly better shape than the rest of the meadow.

Many students participated. Punishing the only one who stepped up, with the entire bill for unnecessary professional repair, is unfair. My daughter reports the sign is beautiful and made her feel happy, sitting on the grass watching students play frisbee around it today. Using spray paint would have been less effort and not nearly as delightful. I like this prank better than the other Class of 07 effort – releasing a whole bunch of crickets inside the school, where they chirped until they either escaped or died.

Meanwhile, Mercury Blogtown is reporting on a lockdown at Benson High School on Tuesday, in response to a Senior Prank involving a noise-making device inside a padlocked locker. “The students involved must face a court date, and are looking at a prospective year in jail for their harmless, albeit stupid actions.” Kids, bomb-like things aren’t funny any more. Adults, kids aren’t as worried about the threat of bomb-like things as we are. Could we all just settle down a little here? This is supposed to be a happy time, when seniors graduate. Whatever happened to A Serious Talking To and Grounded For A Month, as the consequence for being seventeen?

Update 4:16 p.m.: I’m reliably informed that there will be a community replanting of the sod this weekend at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Wilson’s central courtyard. Maggie Collins, the girl who fessed up to participating in the prank, has persuaded Portland Nursery to donate dirt and grass seed to get the lawn back into shape. There will be lunch for the volunteers who come. All community members and students are invited to attend.