Saturday, June 28, 2008
The greatest student prank of all time
Nearly as I can tell, the brilliant student prank is a dying art, a victim of way of too much seriousness and liability. This story, about the revelation of the secret behind the supposed greatest student prank of all time, reminds us what we have lost. Note particularly the incredibly cool response of the dean:
The then Dean of Caius, the late Rev Hugh Montefiore, had an inkling who was responsible and sent a congratulatory case of champagne to their staircase, while maintaining in public he knew nothing of the culprits.
When was the last time you heard of an academic administrator with anything like that sense of humor? And you know his charges benefited from it more than they ever would have had they been disciplined. There is wisdom there.
5 Comments:
By 
JPMcT, at
Sun Jun 29, 12:47:00 AM:
Fantastic feat! The best we did in my old days at Manhattan College was to kidnap the Fordham Ram and paint it's testicles green with park bench paint, then rented a Cessna and dropped 10,000 leaflets on their campus proclaiming "The RAM EATS S**T". Our current dean published a memo to the student body stating that we should be more concerned about our studies than the "occult dietary habits" of our rival's mascot.
Can you imagine the response today....Lockdown, Counselors shipped in, students expelled, commissions formed. I guess we just used up all the fun.
By 
, at
Sun Jun 29, 08:09:00 AM:
I seem to recall about 1977, Burnt Hills High School in NYS. Some seniors managed to put a VW Bug on the portico roof of the HS. The principal was none too happy, but admired the creativity involved. Most of us thought it was hilarious.
By , at
Sun Jun 29, 03:35:00 PM:
The student prank is still alive, or at least it was in 2005:
http://harvardsucks.org/
By , at
Sun Jun 29, 04:09:00 PM:
As anyone who lives in or attended college or university in the Boston area knows, M.I.T. is the ne plus ultra American college or U when talking pranks. So, let's hear from you M.I.T. alumni pranksters out there, I'm sure you guys can top the Cambridge stunt! /S/Green Mtn Punter
By , at
Sun Jun 29, 08:40:00 PM:
Sorry people, CalTech pulled off the greatest student prank of all time. Rose Bowl, national television, 1961.
