High school senior pranks are a common and seemingly comical end to four years of class and study. Before students leave and go to college, they want to make sure they leave their mark on their alma mater. However, pranks may not be seen as entertaining by school administrators. Sometimes, they can spell the end of a promising future for students.

Pranks May Be Funny for Students, But Are Serious for Schools

A popular prank pulled by pupils often involves streaming toilet paper throughout a high school and on the grounds outside. Bathroom tissue hanging from trees, rafters in the cafeteria, and strewn about the hallways will make many people laugh when they arrive at school in the morning. Although amusing, someone must clean it up, and it's often not the students who pulled the prank.

Janitorial staff will have to tidy the school grounds of waste, which is beyond their duties. Meanwhile, school administrators will be working hard trying to identify the miscreants. Considering security cameras are ubiquitous in high schools, they will find perpetrators before long.

Tossing Toilet Tissue Can Get You Tossed from School

Students may think that since they only have a few weeks or days left in their high school tenure, school officials will be more lenient. That is a common misconception. Any school code of conduct will have policies governing the use and treatment of school property. Along with violence towards students or staff, consuming alcohol or drugs on campus, or possessing weapons, the destruction of school property is one of the most severe violations.

Defacing school property will garner swift disciplinary action. Often, schools will levy short-term suspensions for first-time offenders but may seek further corrective action if the misconduct is part of a pattern of misbehavior. Even though it's nearing the end of high school, such a punishment can quickly derail plans after graduation.

Colleges Won't Entertain Accepting Troublemakers

Typically, students are accepted to colleges and universities by their last semester in high school. Some may believe that pulling a prank won't affect their pre-enrollment status for higher education but think again. Schools can rescind offers to prospective students because of misconduct committed after they were accepted. Even if they don't revoke an acceptance offer, a student's scholarships can be taken, given that many rely on character assessments. Defacing school property certainly won't make them look like upstanding leaders.

Unfortunately, some of the fun students want to have before they graduate will hinder their future opportunities—even if they don't know it. Luckily, when pranks go wrong, students and their parents can reach out to a professional to defend their rights and future opportunities.

How Can a Student Defense Advisor Help?

When pranks occur on campus, school administration officials aren't happy. Frequently, they want to make "an example" out of the student involved and don't have their best interests at heart. Therefore, they will look to hand down severe sanctions.

Student defense advisor Joseph D. Lento understands that schools have a zero-tolerance reputation to maintain. Attorney Lento and his team at the Lento Law Firm also know that student and their parents often don't have the negotiation skills necessary to help disciplinary officials from handing down reprimands that will punish students far beyond their high school days. For a chance to protect your child from burdensome school authorities, call 888-535-3686 today, or visit the online consultation form.