A purple letter "P" is seen on this speed limit sign at Huron High School on Tuesday afternoon.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

As 31 of Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School students found out this month, the punishments when pranks get out of line — in this case a scavenger hunt that included some destruction of school property and defecating on athletic fields at Huron and Skyline High Schools — can be serious.

All 31 students were suspended for five days, required to perform 10 hours of community service and prevented from attending the all-night senior party - but allowed to walk in graduation - according to district officials. About 250 students participated in the traditional senior scavenger hunt.

The situation at Pioneer showed the potential for senior pranks to take a serious turn, prompting increased attention in area schools and across the community as graduation approaches.

A collaborative effort?

High school principals from around Washtenaw County say senior pranks have been a long-time rite of passage as graduation approaches. They are prepared for these sorts of activities and sometimes even help plan a safe and fun prank.

“We expect something, but nothing with vandalism and maliciousness,” said William “Kit” Moran, principal of Dexter High School.

Moran said he and other school officials begin holding meetings with the senior class near the end of March to let them know that “graduation is not a requirement," meaning that walking in commencement is a privilege that can be rescinded.

He said he’s been asked by students for permission to do senior pranks, but will refuse to give it if there’s a possibility of vandalism.

“If it’s not vandalism, doesn’t hurt anybody and doesn’t cost the district any money (then they can do it). If it costs money to clean up, it’s not OK,” he said.

Moran said one of the senior pranks that worked in his district was when students rode bikes around the school building and, when they decided it was too cold and rainy to continue riding outside, they moved the ride into the building. Moran said they tracked in water, but returned once the prank was over and mopped up the mess and even bought a bouquet of flowers for a custodian as an apology.

At some schools around the county, students have made it a practice to let administrators know what they have planned for a prank.

Julie Deppner, principal at Chelsea High School, said a few of the best senior pranks at the school were planned with the permission of administration. She pointed to students welding a car around a light pole in the school’s parking lot as an example.

Whitmore Lake High School principal Tom DeKeyser said he's been contacted by students on different occasions either seeking permission to perform a prank or to let him know that a prank has occurred.

DeKeyser said last year students asked if they could bring in squirt guns to the school and he said no. However, students did have a water balloon fight in the parking lot - and DeKeyser was pleased that by the time he heard about it and went out to see what had been done, all of the balloon pieces were gone.

He said students know that he and other school officials take a pride in the school building and won't stand for damage being done to the school.

“If there’s vandalism then it’s not a prank, I consider it vandalism,” he said. “The whole notion of pulling a prank is lost on me if there’s damage.”

Students say they’re unlikely to pull a prank

Some Ann Arbor students have seen the repercussions of what happened because of the scavenger hunt at Pioneer and believe senior pranks, while they might see them as funny, might just not be worth getting caught.

Isabella Ramos, a freshman at Community High School, said she didn’t believe pulling off a senior prank on the level of some of the things on the list of the scavenger hunt would be possible at Community.

“It’s such a small school that it would be around really fast and people would hear about it,” she said, adding that after seeing what happened to Pioneer students she wouldn't want to be involved in a prank when she's a senior.

Senior pranks have been a tradition for generations, but in Ann Arbor schools, this is the second straight year some high school students have performed a destructive prank.

In May 2010, charges were filed against five Huron High School students after they vandalized a police car by smashing out the rear windows and tail lights, placing a recliner on the roof of the car and leaving feces on the roof. Two teens eventually pleaded guilty to malicious destruction of property charges.

The teens were identified using surveillance camera footage, which is similar to how school officials identified some of the 31 suspended students in this year's scavenger hunt.

Ann Arbor schools spokesperson Liz Margolis said last week that no other senior pranks have come to the attention of administrators for this year. She said the scavenger hunt has been around in some form or another for a long time.

"The scavenger hunt has been around for quite a few years," she said. "Some years it's appropriate and other years it's not."

Poom Boonsin , a junior at Community, said he thought some of the things that were on the scavenger hunt done by students were funny, but didn’t think performing acts of vandalism were right.

Another student said he believed Ann Arbor officials are imposing strong disciplinary measures to keep younger students from participating in future pranks.

Chris Upham, another Community junior, said the suspensions represent an effort by the district to discourage these types of senior pranks from happening.

“There’s been a crackdown on this sort of stuff,” he said.

Giving an early warning

One of the more important ways to possibly prevent a senior prank, at least one that causes damage, is to be proactive and let students know the potential punishments, said DeKeyser.

He said he tries to communicate the potential repercussions, but not in terms of suspensions because some seniors might see that as a free break before the end of the school year. DeKeyser said he tells students to keep their grades up, reminds them of the potential of losing the privilege of walking in graduation and being involved in any end of the year activities.

“It’s a nice, respectful relationship that we have right now,” he said. “We’re protecting the building because it’s so important to our community.”

Some schools have extra security measures, which they hope will act as a deterrent against the uptick in destructive pranks.

Moran said his school now uses surveillance cameras as an added security measure in case “someone does something really stupid we’ve got a pretty good record.”

Boonsin agreed that increased security at some of the schools — like cameras in the parking lot — make it more risky for students to do any sort of senior prank that could result in them getting trouble.

“It’s harder to pull off, just with all the cameras and stuff,” he said. “That’s how two of my friends got caught.”

In Milan, school officials look to promote school pride as a reason to keep students from targeting the building or school grounds for a prank.

Ryan McMahon, principal at Milan High School, said the school builds relationships with students to feel a sense of pride and community, which would hopefully deter any desire to pull a prank.

He echoed many of the other principals that said participation in the graduation ceremony could be taken off the table if rules were violated.

“Our preparation for any type of prank occurs on a daily basis throughout the school year,” McMahon said. “We handle discipline in a firm, fair and consistent manner.”

Perhaps one of the more effective ways to keep a senior prank from happening is to simply keep seniors busy until school is over.

Deppner said the seniors at Chelsea attend school up until the Friday before the Sunday commencement ceremonies, so they’re often still busy with schoolwork. However, if a prank gets out of line, she said the school is ready to punish them.

“Participating in unacceptable activities that result in damage to students or property will result in a loss of participating in commencement activities,” she said, “as well as other disciplinary consequences or police referrals.”

Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.