All water-related activities to end this school year, and in all following years, have been banned. There will no longer be water balloons or water guns on the first or last day of school for seniors.
This decision ensures there will be not one splash, not one drop, not even a mist of water, as the LHS administration has forecasted a dry end to the school year.
Pushing the water balloon fight to the practice football/sophomore softball field at the beginning of this school was an attempt to keep the seniors safe while maintaining the fun of the water balloon fight. Unfortunately for both sides, it was an abortive effort.
“We wanted to give it one last shot because it was getting too big,” said Assistant Principal Mr. Eric Maroscher. “It falls into the category of innocent fun. We said, ‘Let’s see if we can keep it contained there.’ We thought we could, we thought we could save the activity, keep people safe and keep everything fun.”
Both LHS principal Dr. Marina Scott and Mr. Maroscher stressed two main factors that contributed to the cancellation of the “clean, innocent fun.”
The primary concern is student safety. LHS administration wanted to allow the fun and excitement of the beginning of the school year while removing the danger of the parking lot.
“It’s so big and people get so caught up in the fun of it; they are unaware,” said Mr. Maroscher. “They don’t realize they are running into the parking lot. It just got to the point where it was dangerous. The bottom line we want everyone to have fun but the minute it gets dangerous, we can’t do it anymore.”
A secondary concern stems from the reputation of the senior class. The usually sterling reputation of LHS seniors was smudged as freshman were scared of being pelted by balloons the first day of school. Stories of hazing freshmen on the first day came to parents, other schools and administrators, portraying the senior class in a negative light. The administration feared the seniors being associated with hazing.
“You’ve got 90% of the seniors who are just amazing,” said Mr. Maroscher. “Then you’ve got a small group [who] ran to Brainerd, started throwing balloons at freshmen and band kids. We started getting calls from the middle schools that kids were scared to come here for their freshmen year. We’ve never been a school where it is a scary place to be. That small slice, unfortunately, the rumor got bigger and bigger and is based on a small truth.”
Dr. Scott added her concern: “It was giving seniors a reputation they don’t deserve. Out in the community people think they pelt freshmen with water balloons.”
According to Dr. Scott, the transition may be rough as many students will be thinking “it happened to me, why can’t I do it?” To smooth over this transition period, the administration is working closely with Student Council to come up with a safer alternative.
“We are working with the Student Council sponsors and kids in Student Council to come up with other ideas to have fun,” said Dr. Scott. “We are going to try to support and facilitate that, so it is not like ‘Blah, something is gone, what’s there to replace it?’ But we want kids’ input on what that should look like.”
Student Council and the senior class representatives came up with ideas and ran them by the administration. The administration then decided how everything will be executed.
“The senior class decided it would probably have more fun and better attend a lunch,” said U.S. history teacher and student council advisor Ms. Andrea Lara. “After the eighth period final, they are going to have an hour and a half with music, Fine’s is going to cater, they are going to play baggo, frisbee, and hang out on the football field. And then after, they all have graduation practice. The teachers do have a surprise that we are doing that the whole school will see the last day of school before finals.”
According to Ms. Lara, there could also be a red carpet entrance and a senior class picture in the stadium. She also stressed how helpful and supportive the LHS administration has been during the process. The administration did not spend much time brainstorming ideas; they are spending their time finding facilities, paying and working the logistics of the whole operation.
There are mixed reviews in anticipation for this event, as many students want to keep the fun of the soaking tradition going; however, there is still optimism for the luncheon.
“The water [balloon] fight at the beginning of the year was a lot of fun but to be honest this whole picnic thing sounds like a good idea,” said senior Ali Urbanski. “And there’s going to be food! It’s going to be as fun as people make it but I’m looking forward to it.”
The junior class is equally as disappointed as the kickoff water balloon fight has been something to look forward to since freshman year.
“That’s always been the senior activity I’ve looked forward to the most,” said junior Nick Stratman. “Every time I saw it, I couldn’t wait to be a senior so we could do stuff like that. I think a lunch would be fine but personally I think it wouldn’t come close to a water balloon fight.”