As graduation nears, Senior Assassin provides seniors with a competitive environment in their final months of high school.
The tournament, unaffiliated with Carlmont or the Associated Student Body (ASB), is run by senior Emi Suzuki.
“Senior Assassin can be described as a game in which a pair is assigned another pair as their target, and they have one week to attempt to eliminate their target,” Suzuki said.
Students who choose to participate first must find a partner, then pay a $10 entry fee towards a prize fund that is eventually rewarded to winners. Participants are kept up-to-date through the Instagram page and in a group on the Splashin app, which informs players about purge dates, assigned targets, and more.
To eliminate a target, participants need to shoot the target with a water gun and capture the elimination on video, all while simultaneously avoiding getting shot themselves. Once one partner is shot, the other has 24 hours to eliminate both of the pair’s targets before they are disqualified altogether. Once they eliminate their target, a pair’s safety is ensured until the next round.
The game’s primary challenge is locating a target by the end of the weekly round, which can also force participants to resort to various methods to do so.
“This event is making people communicate with their peers more to find out information about one another; it also forces people to use critical tactics and think outside the box,” said participating senior Zhanna Paredes.
The event takes place off campus and is not directly managed by Carlmont. All usage of the water guns is to be held on the student’s own time, after or before school hours.
This event is making people communicate with their peers more to find out information about one another; it also forces people to use critical tactics and think outside the box.
— Zhanna Paredes
While waiting outside a target’s house is the most-used tactic for elimination, students sometimes resort to extreme methods to be able to do so.
“We found our target’s plates and got her home address,” said Colin Gutierrez, a senior participating in the event.
Small, colorful floaties can be worn as a shield. Students visibly wearing the floaties are immune to getting shot and eliminated.
“I’m not taking any chances; I bring my floaty with me everywhere,” Gutierrez said.
Still, on certain days, called Purge Days, floaties lose their shield power.
With safety in mind, trespassing onto someone’s private property is strictly prohibited, as is hitting someone during sports practices and games or while someone is working.
“We have strict rules. One of which players can only shoot their target during certain times to ensure equity and safety,” Suzuki said.
Alliances also play a role in the game and are unregulated in the event, giving students potential advantages to advance.
“Players are free to make alliances. People love a good competition and are motivated to win, so players must be cautious about who they can rely on,” Suzuki said.
Though the game is filled with competition and rivalry, it can also bring the senior class together before graduation.
“I haven’t talked to some of my classmates in years, and here I am now back with them again, right before high school comes to an end,” Gutierrez said.
