Controversial school tradition Senior Tag is back
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Resch's Bakery in Gahanna hopes to keep Senior Tag players away. Photo: Andrew King/Axios
Springtime at Central Ohio high schools means the return of traditions like prom, senior skip day and, surprisingly to some, students running around in their underwear with water guns.
Why it matters: Depending on who you ask, "Senior Tag" is a beloved tradition and silly spectacle or a public nuisance and serious accident in the making. Either way, it's likely coming to a suburban neighborhood near you this month.
How it works: Our regional variant of the national "senior assassin" phenomenon, Senior Tag involves students hunting each other with water guns over the course of weeks until one winning team remains.
- Rules vary, but typically prohibit tagging on school property or at students' workplaces.
- Participants pool entry money and winners often take home sizable cash prizes.
The intrigue: In the past, the game's most notorious twist was invincibility while naked — that's since been largely amended to allow for underwear or swimsuits.
Today, the game is no secret in school communities.
- At many schools, seniors create social media pages for their game.
- Grove City residents on a local Facebook page are discussing their school's Nerf variant.
- Olentangy Schools is alerting residents and sharing Delaware County sheriff's rules that prohibit trespassing or playing while driving.
Friction point: Between scantily clad teenagers carrying gun-shaped objects, the frantic nature of the game and tags occurring late into the night or in front of unsuspecting adults, Senior Tag has led to countless 911 calls and stern words from school and police officials.
Between the lines: Schools would ban the game if they could. But because it's played away from school grounds, there's not much they can do.
- Worthington Christian's student handbook bans spring athletes from participating.
What they're saying: Blendon Township police chief John Belford warned students in 2024 that "armed citizens" may "react to a strange situation not in the way they intend."
- Former Westerville police chief Joe Morbitzer once called the game "a bad situation waiting to happen."
Threat level: Those comments may seem hyperbolic — but because the game so frequently involves cars and new drivers, accidents have deadly potential.
- In 2024, a Cleveland-area teen died when he fell from a moving vehicle while playing his school's version of the game.
- Last year, the same thing happened to an Arlington, Texas student.