Eighteen seniors at West Genesee High School might not get to walk at graduation this year.
The students were suspended for at least five days last today after engaging in a silly string fight in the school’s first floor hall during a break between classes, said Superintendent Chris Brown. Brown said students were penalized because they refused to stop when administrators intervened. It took more than three hours to fix the situation and clean up the silly string. “The building principal and administrators told them to stop and they didn’t stop. They continued on, and you gotta have consequences for that,” Brown said. Whether the students will participate in the school’s June 18 graduation ceremony will depend on the outcome of their individual superintendent hearings “and what their behavior is like from now until graduation day,” Brown said. The superintendent said he has worked to put the wrap on senior pranks since coming to the job four years ago. “We’ve really tried to change the culture here,” he said. “Worse things can happen, but you always want to have an organization where this doesn’t occur.”