Mia Morneault

A collection of photos taken after players were eliminated.

Water sprays across fields. Cars speed off into the sunset. Children duck behind walls, bushes and corners. This is how 180 students from the class of 2024 have been spending their month.

A tradition started from last year, the senior class participates  in a game of Senior Assassin. The game is held by the student council, and is being fully run by Student Body President, Trevor von Wupperfeld.

Von Wupperfeld said he felt pressure to make the game a tradition, rather than a one-off experience for the class of 2023.

“The senior class would have beheaded me if I did not,” von Wupperfeld said. “I was sick with Mono for two weeks, and was better, and I got several threats about it. So if I wanted to live the full senior year, I kind of needed to do it.”

Von Wupperfeld also said students should be taking this game as seriously as possible.

“I think it’s hilarious,” von Wupperfeld said. “We’ve had a couple incidents. The cops have been called due to related senior assassin activities, so I’ve been told. But, that’s not my problem. And then also, yeah, we’ve had some silly business. So, when Nate Ryan went to an airport with a Super Soaker, that was hilarious. But concerning.”

Ryan went to the Austin Bergstrom Airport, and waited outside of the baggage claim area. During this time he took videos and called von Wupperfeld, stating that he “locked in.” More details listed on the Wolfcast.

Several assassinations have been based on brute strength and speed, but a handful of students would rather use their wits to beat their targets. Senior Ishani Pandey was the victim of one of these sneaky eliminations, after a run in with a 5- year-old sibling.

Pandey said she was cautious during her brief time of the game, cleaning out her garage just so she could park without people finding her car. “Like my whole family was on edge and like, my neighbors were like ‘Ishani, there’s a car outside, maybe don’t come home’ [and] all this kind of stuff.” Pandey said. “I wanted to live my life, I wanted to go for walks and go to the grocery store, we were having fun. But at the same time, I was so stressed all the time that I can definitely see that causing some anxiety for some people.”

“So I’m home alone, bundled up on the couch watching a movie, and someone knocks on my door and I hear, I can hear someone talking into a little kid. As I’m walking up to the door, I thought about it, I was like, ‘do I want to open the door?’ So I go and I look out the little window next to my door, and he’s alone, there’s no adult with him. And I get worried because of my older-sister instinct. I’m like, ‘Maybe it’s one of my sister’s friends who was in the neighborhood, like he’s alone.’ So I open the door and I don’t recognize this kid, but I’m like, he’s like ten years old.”

As Pandey opened the door, her dog ran outside the house, eager to meet a new person. 

“[My dog] runs out under the porch to play with them,” Pandey said. “So I went out to grab my dog, and Ava was standing behind my porch post, waiting for me to step out.  My porch is pretty small, so I kind of accepted defeat really quickly, but I was disoriented for a good second.”

As the game wraps up, and kills later are confirmed, the winning team will receive the elusive cash prize. While the amount of money has not been announced yet, many are waiting to hear the news, whether or not they are in the game.