The Blunder Years

At many high schools, senior pranks, overly demonstrative school rivalries, and other extracurricular high jinks are as traditional as homecoming and the prom. But when Spirit Week gets too spirited or a senior class tries to outdo its pranking predecessors, the fun can turn nasty. As many students have learned, the repercussions can be dire—particularly at schools cracking down on acting up. (Several of the students held responsible for these incidents were younger than 18. Teacher Magazine has withheld their names.)

The Offense: Homecoming vandalism.

The Plot: For many, the mention of homecoming week brings back memories of football games, floats, and crisp fall weather. But for seven students in Wisconsin, nostalgia will likely be secondary to the stinging reality of the felony vandalism charges they faced. This past October, the Wausau West High School students allegedly destroyed trees and spray-painted graffiti on their campus’s running track and bleachers, causing about $3,500 worth of damage. They also replaced the school’s American flag with a Confederate one, police said. Travis Traska, 18, was quoted in the Wausau Daily Herald as saying that he and his friends wanted to "go down in the books as doing something that was...