Some may think that Seniors are going crazy with all the stress that accumulates during the last year of high school. One week, they are seen walking around with a stick of lip balm glued to their lips. The next week, they’re all holding wands. Some are even seen struggling to do their homework in Town Hall with oven mitts on. Then, they all have spoons taped to their noses. Don’t worry, it is not insanity, it is Assassins.

Any Senior can pay $5 to enter this challenge. They are given a task and a target each week. They have to eliminate the target by hitting them with a sock. When asked what he thought about the game, Dani Lopez ’14 said, “I never thought socks could be scary!” The only way to avoid elimination is to do the “safety’ or task assigned at all times, hence the lip balm, wands, oven mitts, and spoons. The last one standing gets every cent accumulated throughout the games, all for themselves. This game sparked the interest of 75 seniors; now, in week 5, there are 16 left. The game’s host, Leo Biette-Timmons ‘14, assigns a target through a text message to all of the players. He posts a youtube video displaying the next safety and rules for that particular week. View the latest video: http://bit.ly/1eWyzgo.

Finding an assigned target can sometimes be difficult; by using social media and asking around, most people find their mark. As soon as a participant does, the next step is to eliminate the target. Players must eradicate their opponents in order to survive and move on to the next round.

The game isn’t done then, not by a long shot. After eliminating the assigned target, the player inherits their previous mark’s target. The game ends when only one person has not been eliminated. Game play occurs at all hours and in all places unless otherwise stated by the rules. Some rules establish safe-zones. Class time is a safe period and players have a ten minute grace period before and after practice and games (practice and games are also safe periods). Students often do not eat during lunch because it gives their killer an opportunity to eliminate them. Seniors team up with other students around the school just to eliminate a player.

So what’s the trick? Some think that to win; you have to be ridiculous – following people to their houses, waiting for them outside their SAT, stealing their safety, etc. But others take a mellower route and simply do their safety 24/7, out of harm’s way. Mehdi Huseynov ‘14 comments, “I am definitely going to win because I am Mehdi. No one can doubt me.” On the other hand, Chloe Laird ‘14, who dropped out by choice, says that “Assassins became too much extra, unneeded stress…Once I saw the safety this week (having a broom between my legs and holding a tennis ball at a 90 degree angle), I decided it was time for me to drop out. It was distracting me too much from school.”

Most underclassmen see the Seniors wearing their assigned props, and it adds to the excitement of becoming a Senior. Seniors get off campus lunch privileges, but some underclassmen say getting to participate in Assassins is what they are looking forward to most when they finally make it to their last year of high school.