It was meant to be a funny senior prank, but the antics of dozens of students at Teaneck High School in New Jersey have gotten them in big, big trouble with the law. At least 10 police departments responded early this morning to what they suspected was a burglary at the school. What they found shocked them even more: students were caught flipping over desks, covering doors with Vaseline, and -- brace yourself for this -- urinating in the hallways.
Pretty unbelievable, huh? If you're thinking what I am -- that the teens need to learn a lesson after pulling such a disrespectful stunt -- you will be glad to know it's being taken very seriously. At least 60 students face criminal mischief and burglary charges.
When police arrived at the school, some students hid and others tried to run away. One officer says he never saw anything like it. So many kids were put in handcuffs and taken to the station that they had to be carted off in small groups.
The teens are reportedly going to face consequences both in school and with the law. If you think this sounds drastic, consider this: An officer says the teens seemed extremely remorseful after they were brought to the police station. I'm going to bet none of them thought for five seconds they would face any punishment more serious than a few days of detention for their "prank."
When I was a senior, our big end-of-the-year prank involved buying 50 crickets from a pet store and releasing them during last period. Looking back now, I see how disrespectful it was and how much of a costly nuisance it was for school staff to have to clean up the mess caused by a group of thoughtless kids. We deserved to get into big trouble, and the only reason we didn't is because we didn't get caught.
The teens involved in this prank also deserve their punishment. They broke into their school at night. They urinated in the hallways. And they prevented a great number of police officers from doing actual police work in order to deal with this nonsense. I'm not saying these kids should serve jail time, but they should be fined or forced to perform community volunteer work. Just knowing they can't get away with their actions may be the greatest lesson they learn during their high school years.
This video will give you a better idea of what went on at the high school:
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Do you think these teens deserve to be charged with a crime, or should this be seen as nothing more than a senior prank?
Image via YouTube