Deke Bowman
Guest Columnist
February 11, 2005
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As students woke up and headed to the chapel on a Thursday morning last semester, they looked up to see something unusual in the steeple of Seeger Chapel: the infamous buffalo that has been at the forefront of Milligan pranks throughout the years.
This is an example of the classic pranks that have become part of Milligan’s
history. Pranks are a time-honored tradition at Milligan College, as well as on
campuses across the nation. Pranks come in all kinds of packages and include a
wide array of people
Imagine it is 3 a.m. on the campus of Milligan. What is really going on? That’s
right. Pranks.
Pranks are the nocturnal art form. Professor of history and humanities Dr. Tim
Dillon as well as Drs. Lee and Pat Magness, Britton professor of Bible and
professor of humanities and English, respectively, have woken up to find the
buffalo in their yards.
The best criteria for a good prank can be discovered by talking with Milligan’s
past and present pranksters.
Generally speaking, there are two types of pranksters: those who follow an
unspoken etiquette and those who will stop at nothing for a laugh.
Pranks are also targeted at different people or groups. They can be targeted at
an individual - like the traditional creeking, an event that occurs after a
person gets engaged - or at an institution - like Milligan.
Pranks, however, are also ruled by etiquette. The most important factor is how
much money it will cost to undo the damage that has been done. Generally there
is a respect paid to an individual or organization to not cause an unreasonable
economic burden.
“A prank is funnier when no permanent damage results,” Joe Wise, director of
development and church relations, said.
In a prank performed by Dillon and several others years ago, old used tires were
stacked up the flagpole, thinking it would be relatively easy to fix. And it
would have been, had the steel-belted tires not had to be pulled off by a cherry
picker one-by-one.
Although Dillon’s may have been a good prank, it was low on etiquette because of
the added financial burden on the college to rent a cherry picker and to have an
employee remove the tires.
The second aspect of prank etiquette is simply that people shouldn’t know who
perpetrated the prank, said Tim Ross, senior minister at Hopwood Memorial
Christian Church.
There should be a general consensus to keep the occurrence quiet despite what
people might know.
Ben Lee, youth minister at Hopwood Memorial Christian Church, recollected a time
when former Dean of Students Dean Derry was able to stop a prank before it
occurred.
Lee and a few other students were going to copy a key, a prank they had only
talked about between themselves. Later on in the week, Derry called them into
his office to see if a key had actually been made.
The next major piece of etiquette is to gauge the response of the
administrators. Looking at their sense of humor and how much of a joke they may
be able to take before carrying out it out may affect the prank.
Finally, one of the most important pieces of etiquette is actually more a piece
of advice. A person must ask what a prank is worth and why it is being done. Is
there an absolutely comical response desired, or is a satirical element included
in order to draw attention to something in hopes of inflicting a change? The
goal is to reproduce a time-honored classic or to do something new and creative.
When all these factors and guidelines of etiquette come together, pranks truly become art. Behind a good prank lies a truly great prankster.
“The key to a good prank is to have fun without hurting anyone or anything while
being creative,” said Facilities Service Manager Jonathon Robinson.
The Stampede does not
condone any type of pranks on Milligan’s campus.