Important note from Wake County Public Schools: Numerous instances from around the county of illegal actions like trespassing and reckless driving have been reported to law enforcement while playing senior assassin. Please keep in mind that this is, at the end of the day, just a game. Games are meant to be fun and not to put anyone in immediate danger.
As summer approaches and school systems around the country wind down their 2024-2025 school year, senior classes everywhere have taken part in a game called “Senior Assassin.” Activities like this, while not without their drawbacks, unify the student body for one last time just weeks before their time together ends, providing a lighthearted ending to a major chapter of their lives.
As for what the game is exactly, “Senior Assassin” involves students using water guns to search for and eliminate their pre-assigned opponent, another classmate, in a designated span of time. Whoever is the last senior standing is the victor. As most of these games involve a relatively cheap buy-in, the winner walks away with quite a sum of cash. They must do all of this while following a specific set of rules and, most importantly, without breaking any laws.
There are many positives associated with senior assassin, but one specific perk that is oftentimes quite overlooked is how it gives students in their final year of compulsory education a bittersweet ending. Senior year can be a sad time for many students, as they begin to move into a new phase of their lives. According to a study by the Education Resources Information Center, seniors in high school face heightened stress levels as they feel uncertain about their futures. Through games like Senior Assassin, students can shift their focus from the stress they have and find a way to enjoy their final months in high school.
Unfortunately for some, the game has gone too far. There have been numerous instances of students trespassing or making simple traffic violations every year, muddying the reputation of this lighthearted game.
These issues go further, though, with some situations involving serious laws being broken, like when students in Ohio were caught on film pulling their squirt guns out during a traffic stop with police present. Serious, even criminal, offenses like this instance, along with physical or verbal violence, are all examples of taking the game too far. With such a large prize on the line, it’s easy to get carried away by the thought of winning, but it’s important to remember that at the end of the day, it’s just a game. Games are meant to be fun, and fortunately, these instances of malpractice are generally anomalies when it comes to senior assassin as a whole.
It’s also important to realize that aside from the stress-management bonuses that come with senior assassin, the negative instances associated with it are also outweighed by the unification and fun this game provides to the class. Take a look at Wakefield’s 2025 senior assassin Instagram page, which has over 500 followers, and you’ll find an archive full of pictures and videos of students joined together who don’t typically interact with each other.
Along with the pictures from students playing against each other in the game, the topic as a whole becomes a big talking point for students around the school. I know personally I’ve talked to dozens of people whom I don’t interface with as frequently about senior assassin, whether I’m helping them track down a target or asking them about their latest elimination. It’s a new social connection for the senior class, and for a stressful season of life, the game really is a breath of fresh air. Even though a big part of our lives is going away, there’s no reason not to have fun with it while we still can.
