Saving the Banana Boys

Some creative high-school seniors at Zion-Benton High school in Waukegan, Illinois recently thought up what they believed to be the perfect harmless prank. To inject some comic relief into the school day, one of them dressed up as a gorilla and chased his pals, dressed as giant bananas, through the school and out the back door.

Maybe they should have kept going.

The following day, they were all suspended, along with threats of further punishment that included being barred from attending their senior prom—and kept off the stage during graduation.

The Waukegan News Sun reported that according to school superintendent Deborah Clarke, this was all done in accordance with school policies for “serious pranks.”

The wayward seniors finally served out their suspension, but not before the boys became a mini-cause celebre at school, complete with a page on MySpace.com dedicated to “Saving the Banana Boys.”

Deborah Lambert writes the Squeaky Chalk column for Accuracy in Academia.

Deborah Lambert