Because Covid canceled many activities over the last two years, seniors adopted new traditions, including Senior Assassin, an unsanctioned game set up and run by Will McLaughlin (Sr.) and Jordin Lennon (Sr.), with help from McLaughlin’s mother. Senior Assassin, despite its ominous name, was merely an elimination game played with water guns or balloons, much like a game of tag.
Seniors had to video their eliminations of targets. National media reporting on the game often painted it as nefarious and problematic, but seniors at York found it an enjoyable way to end senior year with friendly competition and a concrete set of rules.
Each week, McLaughlin created envelopes and slips with targets for teams. These were distributed to seniors who bought in to the game and secured a spot with a teammate. The money collected created a final pot for the winner of the game.
This year’s winners were Lennon and Adrian Brookman (Sr.) who played on a team together.
Prior to the commencement of the game, seniors were reminded that no activity was permitted on school grounds. Specifically, water guns of any kind were not permitted. That included during school hours, before school, or after school. If a senior wanted to be marked safe, he or she donned water wings or floaties as a visible marker. Certain days were not allowed to be invoked as safety days. Seniors mostly respected the rules about workplace and school grounds sanctuaries.
Senior Assassin player Aubrey Stephan said, “Being a part of senior assassin was the most fun and stressful two weeks. The fear that came from forgetting your floaties when going out in public or the thrill of sitting outside your target’s house waiting for the right opportunity was the most exciting feeling. I had many failed attempts, but I do not regret my decision of playing senior assassin.”
Daniel Liang and Kyler Jorgenson played on a team together before being eliminated. Jorgenson said, “We came up with a pretty good plan to target our competition. We definitely surprised them, and got it all on video.”
Every week, teams competed to target their marks. Anyone eliminated could buy back in one time. Lennon was eliminated once, but bought back in, and eventually he eliminated Robert Cunningham via water balloon. Brookman ‘assasinated’ his competition at Chick-fil-A.
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