Visitors to Cold Spring this past May might have been confused when they saw young adults running around the village wearing swim goggles and floaties, but no swimsuit. The answer? These were Haldane seniors avoiding being “murdered” by their fellow classmates in the annual contest known as Senior Assassin.
This senior tradition is not run by the school; instead, it is organized off campus and on the students’ own time by a different senior each year. This year, senior Christian Ferreira hosted the games. The primary objective is to eliminate your targets by shooting them with water guns, without being shot yourself. The last person standing wins a cash prize. School, work, and internships are considered safe zones, but general areas outside these locations are fair game. Floaties and goggles can be used as protection, as you cannot be eliminated if you’re wearing either. Unless, of course, there’s an active purge: a time period where protections cease working. You also must record your “kill” and upload it to Instagram, or it doesn’t count.
While many students chased each other throughout the village this spring, competing for the grand prize, senior Brody Corless ultimately walked away with roughly $300 in prize money Senior Brendan Shanahan wrote a personal account of his experience dodging water and vying for victory.
Brendan’s Journal:
Although I considered shying away from the event initially, I eventually caved in when I heard some friends of mine were joining. With just a $5 entry fee to contribute to the prize pool, I was in. I had to download the app, Splashin, which was geared towards Senior Assassin, which allowed me to view the location of my target. In the first week, you didn’t have to get your target out in order to remain in the game. All you had to do was not get caught yourself. However, many students were unsuccessful in avoiding “death”.
After a neck-and-neck vote by all the game’s participants, it was decided that players who were eliminated in the first week were allowed to re-enter the game, provided they paid a $20 entry fee. The second week was when the game truly began. We were given a new target and had to get them out before the week ended to stay in. For some, this meant camping outside workplaces, homes, behind cars, you name it. Some students went to extreme lengths to secure their spots in the next round, often crouching for hours behind bushes for the chance to catch their unsuspecting target and record it on camera.
Although it certainly wasn’t at the forefront of my mind while I was sitting in class, I found it immediately rushing to the top of my thoughts the moment school was over. Something about the nerves of waiting for your opponent to pop out at just the right moment, combined with the embarrassment of running full speed down the sidewalks of Nelsonville with a pair of goggles and a bright pink water pistol, as confused residents pass by, staring, made this game a unique and memorable way to round off the senior year of high school.
