Senior year is riddled with moments of nostalgia and tradition such as senior assassin. However, the game has proven to be quite an ordeal. Between controversy on the senior page and reportedly poor management, the game -and money- are simply not worth the drama and stress.

Though seniors Nick Brown and Sarah Springer see a positive angle to the game, they also take note of the social and psychological toll it takes on players. “I haven’t hung out with my friends since it started ‘cause I don’t trust them,” Springer stated. “I’ve definitely been hiding out, not doing as much. I haven’t gotten my nails done in forever ‘cause I’m scared to go to the nail salon.”

Though the rules of senior assassin prohibit reckless behavior in some areas around town, most parking lots and shopping centers are fair game, turning everyday errands into risky chores. Even one’s house which was at one point a safe haven turns into a target.

“If you park outside of your garage, you cannot walk from your house to your garage to start to warm up [your car] without having a panic attack,” Nick Brown stated.

Moreover, the stress of senior assassin does not end with brisk dashes to the car in the mornings. One of the admins of senior assassin social media, Kyllie Hardy, is feeling the weight of the world orchestrating this game. “We’re two people trying to run at least two hundred students of senior assassin,” Hardy said in reference to herself and co-admin Caitlyn Glenn. “We get messages day and night asking why we’re saying yes to some students and no to some students… We say no if it’s not on the rules and we don’t want to deal with it.”

Considering there’s close to $1,000 on the line, there’s no wonder students are taking the game so seriously. However, at some point the senior student body as a whole needs to be reminded that they are playing what is supposed to be a fun game to bring them closer together rather than a full blown war.