East Ridge Seniors Monkey Around

You might have had some trouble getting through the roundabout near on Thursday morning.

As part of a senior prank, a group of students got together at the school’s parking lot around 8 a.m. and drove over to the at Bailey Road and Radio Drive.

And kept going around. And around. And around.

“Cars were backed up pretty far,” said East Ridge senior Will Fenton, 18, who was part of the prank. “There were some people letting kids out to walk to school. Some cars even jumped the curb and drove across the field.”

Police eventually showed up and sent the students on their way.

“They actually thought it was pretty funny,” said Fenton, who lives in Woodbury.

A handful of even sat in lawn chairs in the middle of the roundabout and others dressed up in gorilla costumes, he said. The prank wasn’t planned out, Fenton said. “It was a very last-minute thing.”

Woodbury traffic officer wasn’t among the police who responded to the situation, but it’s his understanding that none of the students were cited. It could have been a case of impeding traffic, he said.

In a roundabout, drivers "need to make a decision on where they’re going,” Melander said. "Though that’s pretty funny."

By about 8:20 a.m., the students had left the area, but it wasn’t the last of their pranks, Fenton said.

Seniors set their cell phone alarms to go off at 10:30 a.m., he said, and later a big group of them lay down the floor near the library and caused a different kind of backup.

To top things off, during lunch seniors yelled, “Fight!” he said, and fellow students ran over—only to find that it was just a game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos. They initially wanted to get Rock ’Em, Sock ’Em Robots, but nobody had that game.

Still, Fenton thought the prank at the roundabout stood above the rest.

“That was definitely the highlight of the day,” he said.

A little before 5 p.m. Thursday, East Ridge Principal Aaron Harper sent out a note about the pranks.

“Although students believe these behaviors are harmless they often lead to unanticipated outcomes, compromise the safety of our student body, and negatively impact the learning environment,” he wrote in an email to parents. “I am requesting that you discuss this topic with your child tonight and clarify your behavioral expectations for finishing the school year. Together we have worked extremely hard to create a positive environment that supports a variety of learners, differences among learners, and need your continued support for a successful end of the school year.”