4/17/26: Editor’s note: an earlier version of the story (which is also in the print edition) mistakenly identified Scarlett Buckby ’26 by a different student’s name. The Peabody Press regrets the error.
On Wednesday, March 25, members of the class of 2026 were surprised by a sudden email: Senior Assassin was officially canceled.
The group chat on the Senior Splashin’ app exploded with students mourning their beloved water gun game.
In the email, sent by Nicole Jules, assistant head of high school for student affairs, she listed reasons ranging from reckless driving to encounters with the police.
Jules also quoted a student’s messages from the group chat where they had been planning to try and convince her to allow the game to continue, writing, “I have been made aware of discussions regarding a ‘story’ to tell me in order to keep the game going. Being dishonest is not the way you should want to move through the world to get what you want. I am deeply disappointed that, as seniors, you have decided on this as a course of action.”
The previous evening, an adult called the school about an incident they witnessed. A student was backing up suddenly and driving quickly in a parking lot with both their target and the person who was targeting them. The adult felt that the student was putting others at risk. Those who witnessed the event said that although they did not believe this person’s actions posed real danger to others, their driving did appear impulsive.
Scarlett Buckby ‘26, one of the game’s organizers, said that it was important to the Senior Student Council to try and set up the game.
“I think a lot of people see it as an annual tradition, so we did want to take part in that. However, we knew going into it that it was going to be hard to finish the game fully,” Buckby said.
Buckby said that safety was the organizers’ biggest priority in the planning process.
“Compared to other schools, USN did a great job of making sure that the rules were clear,” Buckby said. “We had only one [type] of water gun allowed for players, we made sure no one was playing on campus, we had curfew times of 11:00 PM on weekdays,” Buckby continued. “At the end of the day, it’s just really hard to make sure you have a whole grade of kids following the rules.”
Struggles with miscommunication between organizers, the senior class council, and the administration may have played a role in the game’s collapse.
Buckby said, “It may be important to note that neither of the two co-captains of Senior Assassin ‘26 [Buckby and Divya Rao ’26] were actually present at the meeting with Ms. Jules before the game. Only [senior class council members] were at those meetings. When I met with Ms. Jules after the game shut down, she said she had explicitly told people that the game would get shut down if someone reported a player to the school. If us [organizers] had known that, the game would have continued,” Buckby said.
Jules said that the decision to cancel the game was ultimately over concerns of student safety.
“It’s not about taking anyone’s fun away, but ensuring that fun is safe,” Jules said.
“Reports started coming to us of people driving unsafely in parking lots, of a parent getting bumped by someone’s car, and of the police being called on another person. At that point, we just can’t continue,” Jules said.
“I’m hoping that the [class of 2027] next year will come up with something creative and unique that doesn’t have to involve [the school’s administration] at all,” Jules added. “We want you to have fun, but we also want you to be here [at school] tomorrow.”
Buckby said that she did not personally think it was necessary for the game to be shut down but understood that it was the administration’s decision to make.
“I understand the concern, but I believe that we as the Senior Assassin organizers took that to heart. We eliminated the person who wasn’t playing correctly, and we were going to continue doing that throughout the game,” Buckby said.
“I think that shutting down the game entirely was disappointing,” she added. “But at the end of the day, it’s what they thought was best.”
