Seniors reflect on “senior prank” that went too far

It started on a quiet Thursday night on April 27 when approximately 70 students entered Ludlow High School to commit a “senior prank.” It ended 40 minutes later with the president of the senior class dressed in a Dorothy costume stomping on crickets with her ruby red slippers.

How did this happen, you may ask? The Class of 2023 senior prank quickly blew out of proportion. 

The senior prank is an annual tradition. Each year, students plan a prank that typically results in smiles, laughter, and the occasional sprinkle of angry teachers. Last year’s senior prank included cutting up hot dogs and sticking plastic forks into the ground around the entrance outside the school and students parking in the faculty parking. 

When questioning the intentions of the prank this year, the President of the Class of 2023, Riley Londraville, stated that “the initial intentions of the prank was streamers and balloons: decorations that would leave smiles on the faces of students and faculty the following day.”

 This was the plan, according to Londraville, until a few students took advantage of the building access and managed to take the 2023 senior prank to the extreme, angering faculty, janitors, and some students.

As punishment for “vandalism,” Principal Lisa Nemeth canceled the annual senior farewell and walkthrough. What generated a lot of controversy was that seniors who were not involved in the prank — some who never even entered the building — also lost out on the annual event.

I interviewed three students about the prank, who all had different perspectives on how the night played out. First, Londraville said, “That night, I had play rehearsal, and I wasn’t able to oversee the setup—mistake number one. When I heard a commotion (while in the soundproof auditorium), I knew it was going downhill. I then killed about 250 crickets, [in my] red ruby slippers and all.”

Londraville had the responsibility of planning the prank, but was not able to supervise due to her rehearsal for The Wizard of Oz play that was happening the upcoming weekend. Londraville was very disappointed with what the planned senior prank turned out to be for their class. 

Julia Colson went to Ludlow High School that night simply to carry out the original senior prank plan.  When asked if she felt that her class took it to the extreme, she replied, “I think that my class took it way too far. The prank was supposed to consist of blowing up balloons to place around the school and streamers to decorate the hallways, but many people showed up with the wrong idea of what the senior prank should be.”

Colson added that “in the beginning, I felt no need to leave. We were all just blowing up balloons in the main entrance and hanging streamers like a curtain through the door. But then, as more people started arriving, the prank escalated fast, and we decided to leave early.” 

Colson wanted no part in the escalated version of the prank.

Senior Zachary Klimek was probably the most controversial figure in this story. There have been a variety of stories about his participation circulating around Ludlow High School, so I reached out to Klimek himself for clarification and his view of the events.

“Yes, it was 100 percent my idea to do what I did,” he said, which included purchasing and releasing 500 crickets in the school’s teacher’s lounge. “If it was just what I did there, it wouldn’t have been a big issue,” but it seemed worse “since it was in combination with all the vandalism and destruction.,” adding that he “was in and out in four minutes max.” 

Klimek believes some parts of the story that have been shared are not true. 

“I don’t feel like there’s anything wrong with [releasing the crickets] except for how it’s being twisted around by everyone, reverting all the damage back to me or lying about how I went about it.” Klimek’s main point is the crickets were not a big deal; there was worse damage done by other students: [this is] “plain as day,” he says.

With the lingering curiosity of whether or not Klimek regretted what he did, he confidently stated, “I do not feel any regret for what I did. Compared to everything else that was done, I was about 2 percent of the overall problem. I did not vandalize anything, I did not break or damage anything, nor was there any need for concern about the health issues that they may pose.” 

Klimek then described the critters as “captive-bred crickets” that are used as food for reptiles and amphibians and have no risk of spreading any disease or parasites. There would be no health risk to the school, he said.

“At first, I did feel like it may have been over the top, but over time as more and more people avoided their consequences via using me as the prime target, that feeling faded away.”

 He explained that the reason for no longer feeling bad about the situation was because he felt as though he was the “scapegoat since day one.”  

Klimek claimed that the other participating seniors did not want to face the consequences for destruction and vandalism, causing them to blame it on the “more noteworthy participant.” 

While the Cub cannot print the details of his punishment, Klimek claims,  “I was the only one that was being punished at that time. The school had cameras with most of, if not all, the participants’ faces on them. They instead chose to just [target] me.” He expresses that there should not be a punishment for the entire class, but just the select students who participated in the prank, and still claims that he has yet to hear of any punishments for the rest of the participants. 

All National Honor Society members were mailed a letter putting students on probation for their actions. They were put on probation for about two weeks, with additional school-sanctioned community service at one of the surrounding Ludlow Public Schools.

Without this community service, they would not receive the NHS credit as well as the honors of the NHS tassel and stole, sticker on their diploma, and the student would not receive honors at both Class Night and graduation. Without this service, students would graduate as “a member not in good standing.”

 After students completed the community service on May 19th, seniors received another letter notifying them of their return to “member in good standing status.” 

As word spread rapidly around our small community, there were many opinions revolving around the cancellation of senior walkthrough and most importantly, the tradition of Senior Farewell. Between Facebook parents, students around the school, and teachers, there were many mixed feelings. 

Senior Farewell is an event hosted by the Junior class president that happens every year at Ludlow High School. This event includes the passing of the Peace Pipe, a candlelit ceremony while Juniors surround those in caps and gowns in the auditorium while listening to “Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift, speeches from advisors and class officers, as well as a final walkthrough of the hallways lined with all students from LHS as well as the invitation of the 8th-grade class to kindly wish our Seniors the best of luck as they continue on to their future. 

“While it is sad that senior farewell is canceled for everyone, the reason behind it is justified. Personally, I don’t feel upset about this fact. I wouldn’t have gone in the first place”, states Klimek. 

On the other hand, Julia Colson expresses that punishment was necessary for those who participated in the prank but was unfair for those who did not participate. She emphasizes that the National Honor Society punishment was perfect and fair for students who did have a part in some of the destruction. 

“I think something that does not affect the entire class and does not take away from the traditions of LHS would be a better form of punishment for the senior prank,” she said.

 In agreement with Colson, Londraville voices that she understands why administrators went about handling this punishment but strongly wishes it was more aimed at those who strictly engaged in the vandalism rather than the class as a whole when “more than half of the senior class was not present.” 

While Londraville expresses her discouragement towards the loss of this tradition, she also includes the importance of this tradition to the underclassmen who look up to these students as role models.

“I remember watching the senior farewell years ago, baffled that someday that would be me…These are the moments I looked forward to when young; now, not only are they not getting to say goodbye to friends, but they are not seeing the people they will once become.” 

Londraville reminisces on her youth and describes the effect on students because it “has given young students the chance to see into their own future and the motivation to keep going with their own academics; it’s definitely sad to see it go.”

With confidence, we can say that the Class of 2023 will have a very different senior year when compared to other classes in the past due to the experiences and punishments they all faced together. Although only a select few students had a large influence on this year’s senior prank, the class was required to face the consequences as a whole. When overseeing the senior farewell and walkthrough, not much else has changed for the LHS graduates this year. The National Honor Society members who did not participate in the mandatory community service will not receive honors at graduation, but despite that, all students walked across the stage at the UMass Amherst Mullins Center on June 1, 2023.