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Senior Assassins: Soaking the Class of 2022

Senior Assassins, an MC senior class tradition, has been active for over three weeks now. Teams of up to four players are pitted against one another and must spray their bi-weekly assigned targets with water to get them out. Safety is only awarded when team members are wearing their floaties, or are on PUSD campuses. People are placed on bounty, a phrase meaning that anyone can get them out, if they break a rule or wear their floatie on PUSD campuses. Every team was charged a $5 entry fee, which is directly put into the prize fund won by the last team standing. 

Screenshot of post from @mchs.seniorassassin2022 on Instagram

Not only is this game a great way to connect with one’s fellow classmates, but also a fun challenge for those involved.

“Almost everyone joins Senior Assassins, and I am so excited to be a part of this tradition. Although my team hasn’t gotten anyone out yet, we still enjoy hunting our targets down and spending time together,” Senior Alexa Williams said. 

The organizer this year is MC Senior, Shin Matsuo, who initiated the tradition   by creating the official class of 2022 Instagram account in late July. 

“I wanted everyone to enjoy their Senior year without worrying about Senior Assassins falling apart. It is a tradition. After what we just went through with [online classes], we deserve at least something normal,” Matsuo said.

Being the official organizer of the Senior Assassins game also means that Matsuo has forfeited his opportunity to compete for any team. He decided that this was the better option for him after observing past classes and older friends participate. 

“I saw that [the Seniors] were always paranoid and watching over their shoulders, and I just didn’t really want to do that my Senior year,” Matsuo said. 

Screenshot of post from @mchs.seniorassassin2022 on Instagram

Senior Taylor Spiking confirmed Matsuo’s worries about being constantly on edge while out in public. 

“It can be stressful at times because you cannot forget your floatie. Especially when we get new targets and I don’t know who’s targeting me,” Spiking said. 

With about 68 teams aggressively fighting for the prize money, the competitors have their work cut out for them. Matsuo had to lay down the strict rules and confirm fairness for each player. Juggling the responsibility with his school work, college applications, and extracurriculars only proves that Matsuo has his priorities straight. 

“The beginning stages [of set up] were the most difficult, but now things are going pretty smoothly. People are coming up to me at school, usually with basic questions. Other times [there are] discrepancies and I have to manage those,” Matsuo said. 

Within the rules that he has put into place, Matsuo has specifically named all PUSD  property and school event locations as “safe zones,” meaning that players are not required to wear their floaties at these places to remain protected. 

“The lack of association with the [PUSD] is very important. I made everyone sign a waiver so I am not at fault, but PUSD also does not want to be liable. A complete dissociation is ideal,” Matsuo said. 

Screenshot of post from @mchs.seniorassassin2022 on Instagram

One of the biggest components of Senior Assassins is the entry fee that is taken as prize money. The last team  standing will receive approximately $1,300 this year; a generous sum put together by the entrance fee from all players competing. Keeping this money safe has been tricky in the past, but Matsuo has his own plan in order to ensure the money to the winners.

“About a third is in cash, and the rest is in Venmo or PayPal. The cash is in a sealed envelope and the rest is waiting in the Venmo account. I would like to say I can exercise self-control, and not spend it,” Matsuo said. 

Although the game is still in its earliest months, different teams have shown their cut-throat nature in this competition. Expected to go on for at least five more months, predicting a winner at this stage is difficult, but not impossible.

“I want to win, but I am slowly losing hope because my team wasn’t successful in eliminating our first round targets,” Spiking said.

Williams has more confidence in her team than Spiking. 

“Yes, we are going to win. My team is determined to get our future targets out and get the prize money,” Williams said. 

For more updates regarding this year’s Senior Assassins, refer to @mchs.seniorassassin2022 via Instagram. Good luck to all Sundevils who are competing and may the best team win!

Written by Kate Heald

Hey, thanks for checking out my article! I am the Features section editor and run the Instagram account for The MC Sun (@themcsun). I am a senior at MC, and am so excited to be studying Journalism in the fall at a four-year college!

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