Many students here at Gulf Breeze High School anticipate their time to participate in the intense water-gun batter of senior assassin. In this event, one is assigned to another senior student. One must then track and find a good opportunity to shoot water at their assigned person with a water gun. The reward certainly is something to be excited about a cash prize is exciting enough for anyone to want to participate. However, the debate as to which people are taking this challenge too far has become more serious over the years. 

   While this event is meant to be fun and challenging, the game rules have become distinct and clear to restrict students from breaking laws. A common strategy is to find where your target lives and plan a sort of camp to see when they will leave. This can be harmless if there is no trespassing involved. For the past couple of years, students have taken the extreme and violated the borderline rule. While of course there is no breaking and entering, some have tried to soak their target while their car is on. This caused many problems, and the student being targeted was rightfully angry. This event has made a stricter rule on no shooting the target while they are in their vehicle, and it is turned on. This is just an example of the length that some students will go to make sure their target is illuminated. 

   The challenge of Senior Assassin can go on for quite some time, most will eventually quit due to the effort it takes to stay hidden from the assassin. However, that is not always the case. Students that get closer and closer to being in the finals will begin to take it even more extreme because of how high the stakes have gotten. To stay hidden from the assassin, students have taken refuge in friends and relatives’ houses, take leave off work, and become isolated from certain friends with fear their plans outside school will get out. This paranoia can make it hard for students to hang out outside of school with friends and family. An unfortunate scenario is when friends turn on one another. If good friends are still in the challenge, sabotage becomes an option to illuminate a potential assassin and target. Giving out incorrect work schedules, avoiding one another with plans and outside of school information, as well as general distance are all things that can occur with good friends. 

   While the event is well-received and exciting, the extremities that some students have gone to can crush the fun in it. Violating certain rules can get them kicked out of the event and potentially ruin friendships and properties. Despite all of this, most students are very mindful and respectful of their peers and their lives, we are all extremely excited for this year’s Senior Assassin and who will prevail in 2023.