To celebrate their final year and create lasting memories, seniors at Daniel Hand High School have begun participating in Senior Assassin this week, a student run elimination game organized through an app and played off school grounds for a cash prize.
Senior Assassin is a popular tradition among high school seniors. Players use water guns to eliminate assigned targets. In the past, it has been run manually, but this year, the game was run through the Splashin app. This app adds features like revives and location tracking. Though it’s played off campus, it sparked conversion within the school community. Students paid a $15 entry fee, with the winner set to take home a prize between $1400 and $1650. Despite some controversy, many students hope to see it as a fun and memorable part of senior year.
“I do think it adds a level of entertainment and excitement to the senior class,” Anthony Salutari, principal of the high school, said.
Salutari said the game brings energy to the senior class and that is always talked about a lot when it starts. He said that while the school doesn’t officially organize or oversee the game, it generally remains a positive tradition as long as students prioritize safety.
“I've seen a lot of energy that kids are interested in being involved, and it is always talked about a lot once it starts,” Salutari said.
However, Salutari has some safety concerns. It is a nationally played game and there have been reports of people’s water guns getting mistaken for real guns and ending up injured or killed. Salutari said that students should only use obviously fake water guns with clear markings to avoid confusion.
“I do worry about the use of guns, not that a Nerf gun or a water gun is dangerous, but if it's seen by someone not playing and could be misinterpreted, that could raise some serious concerns,” Salutari said.
Andrew Benson, the senior in charge of organizing this year’s game, said he stepped up because he didn’t want to miss out on this game and be the only class that doesn’t do it.
“I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to happen,” Benson said.
There are still many questions in the community about specifics regarding the game.
Benson said one of the most misunderstood rules is regarding the floaty, which protects players from elimination when worn.
“There were seven videos I had to decline last night because you couldn’t see the floaty,” Benson said.
While the game is very popular around the school, not all chose to participate.
Nathaniel Walter, senior at Hand, said he opted out of the game mainly because of the Splashin app. He said he didn’t like the pay to win features, such as spending extra money for revives or to constantly see other players' locations.
“I don’t want $10 revives,” Walter said. “I don’t want to pay 20 bucks with daddy’s money to get you to see everybody’s location all the time. I don’t think that’s equitable.”
Despite not choosing to play, Walter said he enjoys watching the game unfold and finds the drama entertaining.
A recent elimination involving two friends, one of whom had even written a college essay about the other, stood out as being so cold it was unforgettable.
“It adds this layer of suspense to everything,” Walter said.