A senior prank at Zion-Benton Township High School seemed quite humorous at first. But as a group of students quickly learned, the administration And so -- after 10 students in larger-than-life banana costumes ran the halls of the high school with an eleventh student dressed as a gorilla giving chase -- the boys are on the raw end of a seven-day suspension.
The prank started innocently. Senior Andrew Leinonen, who will study criminal justice at Carthage College this fall, wanted to do something that wouldn't damage property or hurt anyone, while still being hilarious. "What's funnier than a gorilla chasing bananas through a school? Nothing," Leinonen said. "It was a harmless prank." . . .
The boys entered the school's main entrance around noon last Thursday and made their way through the English and science hallways before running into a crowded lunch room and then out a back door. All the while they flailed their arms and yelled "Seniors '08."
The prank was quick, and almost painless. Four bananas were rounded up by school security and the plan would soon unravel. By the next day, the boys were slapped with a suspension and at risk of missing prom as well as being kept off the stage at graduation.
Your school-levy tax dollars at work!
Zion-Benton Township High School Superintendent Deborah Clarke said she couldn't comment on punishment because of student confidentially concerns. Clarke said the school followed guidelines in place for what they consider "serious pranks." "We're basically enforcing our policy," Clarke said.
"I'm a rule-bound uptight puritanical petty tyrant. It's in my job description; you can't be a public school administrator without the petty tyrrany."
The same policy led to five-day suspensions for kids caught fighting in school.
"The lesson is clear. If the so-called 'Banana Boys' had beaten each other down with blunt instruments, they'd be in a lot less trouble. Oh, and by the way, vote for the school levy so we can continue the important work of overreacting to the follies of exuberant youth."
The punishment was not welcomed at first. None of the "Banana Boys" had ever been in big trouble before. In support of them, other students planned protests. A private group dedicated to "Saving the Banana Boys" was even set up on MySpace.com.
But fearing that the school may carry out its threat to keep them from prom and graduation, the "Banana Boys" said they advised others to relax and agreed to peacefully serve their punishment before returning to class May 2. . . .