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A senior prank at a prestigious Upper West Side private school has ignited controversy and discussions about cultural sensitivity within the school’s community.
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On Thursday, May 1, several seniors transformed the lobby of the Collegiate School–located at 301 Freedom Place South (between 61st and 62nd streets)–into a mock border patrol checkpoint. The setup allegedly included a cardboard booth surrounded by caution tape, where students asked arriving classmates to show their “papers.” An inflatable eagle riding a motorcycle was displayed, and American and Texas flags adorned the entrance. Outside, a live mariachi band performed as students waved American flags.
While senior pranks are a longstanding tradition at the all-boys school, this particular event has drawn criticism from faculty, students, and parents. A faculty member described the prank as offensive, per a report by Gothamist, stating that it crossed a line and offended members of the school community. A staff complaint urged administrators to hold the students accountable, describing the event as echoing anti-immigrant sentiment. The prank has also sparked discussions on social media, with members of the UWS Mommas Facebook group describing the scene as “bizarre” and in poor taste.
According to Gothamist, Head of School Bodie Brizendine acknowledged the incident in an email to the Collegiate School community, noting that the prank day had been approved with a Fourth of July theme but “unfortunately strayed from that plan.” She described several incidents as “inappropriate, humiliating, and hurtful,” emphasizing that the events did not reflect the school’s values. Brizendine stated that administrators are speaking to students about what happened and that more information would follow.
Collegiate School was founded in the 1600s and is known for its rigorous academics and notable alumni, including the late John F. Kennedy Jr. and media executive Edgar Bronfman. The school’s website emphasizes its commitment to equity and belonging, values that seem starkly contradicted by the prank.
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This incident follows earlier controversies at Collegiate, including the 2024 resignation of former Head of School David Lourie after an investigation found “disquieting problems of religious and cultural bias,” as well as a student-penned open letter pushing back against the imposition of political views by parents and administrators.
ILTUWS’s request for comment was not returned. We will continue to follow this story as it develops.
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I wonder how it would have been received if instead the prank was a faux Intifada encampment complete with masks, headscarves and from the river to the sea placards?
Exactly… and kids will be kids mostly dumb and not thinking…. cue the clutching of the pearls commentary
Ali,
Because what, resistance an illegal occupation isn’t cool?
Or do you mean those peacefully protesting Israel’s ongoing slaughter in Gaza? There’s a difference.
Wow that’s awful. Parents, do better.
All of that time and money spent on educating these young adults. Tragic. Cue Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: “Teach Your Children Well.”
I wonder if the same parents are as upset about what is actually happening in this country to those whom the Trump administration has identified as the other.
Mostly yes.
So suddenly freedom of speech isn’t ok? Can’t keep track of the faux outrage.
I thought it was clever and funny …
S Elayne
S Elayne,
It’s just as “funny” as telling black students they are only to use certain restrooms and are to eat separately in the cafeteria during the week of MLK day.
So, not funny and not clever. It’s the kind of thing that a certain president of the US might have tried were he in military boarding school today instead of in the 1960s.
JA,
This is not a freedom of speech issue, these students took action to intimidate other students within the school. That it was a “joke” is immaterial.
It’s Collegiate. The annual tuition for 2024-25 is $65,900. There are no undocumented immigrants at school who could be “intimidated”.
As we have heard from college presidents, even calling for the genocide of Jews does not necessarily constitute harassment and bullying – it actually “depends on the context” (as per Claudine Gay). Collegiate’s prank is very minor in comparison – I am amazed it is actually getting coverage.
Rita,
You’re sure? Pretty certain Collegiate would not ask for immigration status before admission and there are scholarships — especially for kids from the working class, with good grades + solid recommendations, who speak a language that is not English, Spanish or Mandarin/Cantonese.
Calling for the genocide of Jews, or some other group, and Jews are co-religionists not a specific ethnic group, is protected speech. Threatening Jews (say at Columbia) is an act that is not protected.
You are correct that these Collegiate seniors don’t understand the import of the moment; therefore they should not be graduated. They can spend another academic year in high school.
You’re clearly a patented moron. You know where to shove your protected speech.
Peter,
By attacking freedom of speech here you’re demonstrating that you have nothing constructive to add. But, you have highlighted a big double standard.
Now, actions:
Imagine, if instead of asking for immigration papers, the “pranksters” had segregated black and/or Jewish students and told them that they could only use certain hallways, only go to classes on one floor, plus had to eat after everyone else. Do you think that the pranksters would still be students set to graduate in June?
You see there’s a difference between walking around Collegiate with a sign saying: “No Illegals”, or “Stop the Genocide in Gaza”, and demanding that students confirm that they are not undocumented immigrants — a status that would have next to no bearing regards being a student at Collegiate for the reasons I mentioned above. Under the Bill of Rights, which doesn’t really apply in high school (this is settled law) making others uncomfortable is allowed, but interfering with others going about their legitimate business (school attendance here) is NOT allowed.
Before you say, “But you agree that high school students don’t have freedom of speech on campus”: University students do. And, repeating myself, what the less than bright students pulled at Collegiate is an action that is not protected speech anywhere. It is a form of harassment.
Yes, I am sure there are no undocumented immigrants among students. Parents of children applying for financial aid at Collegiate and other NYC private schools have to disclose everything about their private lives (to demonstrate need for funding). It will be impossible for undocumented immigrants.
Collegiate seniors might not understand the import of the moment but neither do many progressives wearing blinders. The general public is tired of calls for disproportionate collective punishment for deviating from the party line of woke left. It was just a prank. It might have even been funny (not politicallycorrect but still funny).
Rita,
“It will be impossible for undocumented immigrants.”
The parents would just have to provide family income, when applying for aid. Then Collegiate (in this case) would cut the tuition by some formula.
Furthermore, some times, schools like Collegiate simply award full scholarships; that is no financial “aid” application besides confirmation of a low family income — and yes, many undocumented immigrants have real jobs, and pay taxes. Then, of course, if the child was born in the US, he (Collegiate is NOT co-ed) would be a citizen, even if his parents weren’t and aren’t legally residing in the USA.
Israel’s attacks of Gaza are collective punishment. Irony.
You have a very limited understanding of the “left”. HRC is NOT of the left.
No, getting financial aid from Collegiate and other NYC private schools is not just about family income. It is also about total assets/net worth. Parents have to submit information on their bank accounts, credit cards, etc. Collegiate and many other schools use Clarify application to assess families’ needs and the process is very rigid and not easy to follow. A family of undocumented immigrants will not be able to produce all the necessary documents to check all the boxes. The main reason why Collegiate prank was actually funny is because it will be very hard to find a more privileged community.
Re the other point – HRC is indeed supported by both ends of political spectrum but any real human rights discussion has to start with an immediate and unconditional demand for hostage release. Any other version of this conversation would be hypocritical. There is a reason why the general public is rejecting the far left rhetoric.
Rita:
Undocumented immigrants can buy stocks, they can own real estate, and they can have bank accounts. They don’t all simply hoard cash in box under the floorboards.
How “funny” would it have been if theses pranksters had told black students entering the cafeteria around MLK Day that they needed to sit at specific tables, or wait until everyone else had finished lunch. The pranksters would have been at least severely formally reprimanded, if not expelled.
Now, your “HRC” response:
I hope you mean that the Palestinian hostages Israel has held for years, if not decades, will also be released in any “hostage deal”. BUT I suspect you mean no such thing. History didn’t begin on Oct. 7th 2023 CE. Oh, and HRC is supported by the rightwing end of the political spectrum. No one on anything close to the real left supports her.
Re “HRC” – the acronym was first mentioned in your post and I interpreted it as “human rights campaign” which is indeed supported by people on both ends of political spectrum. The vast majority of population believes in human rights. Did you mean Harris? Even if you are convinced she is not a far left candidate, what matters is the “vibes” of general public and general public did see her as a left-wing candidate (there are plenty of polls on this). Her advisors might’ve thought they ran a moderate campaign but, unfortunately, they were again too focused on their own “vibes”, not on the feelings of an average voter.
On the other point – there is a big difference between trying to segregate actual black students and treating highly privileged community as potential undocumented immigrants. The former is clearly offensive. The latter is so far from the truth that it is funny.
Rita,
Which major US political figure has the initials HRC? It is NOT Joe B’s Vice President.
I guarantee, that students within this “highly privileged community”, and it is highly privileged (even if not every family with kids in the school has significant wealth/income) are the children of immigrants, if not immigrants themselves.
My point regards the “pranksters” prank being the equivalent to telling students from some minority (Jews included) that they not to use certain Collegiate spaces/facilities stands.
Did they hire the Mariachi band or did the kids perform it? So many questions.
Talk about missed teaching moment! If this had been done more as an actual “warning” of what is occurring in this country, it could have been used as a really superb teaching moment. That these students turned it into some kind of “game” shows that they don’t understand the import of the moment.
Perhaps the teachers can salvage this with a TRUE “teaching moment” by discussing the prank in class and pointing out the realities of what is occurring, and why setting it up as a prank was both wrong and hurtful to some..
It all started out (for me) as confusing since it was referred to as a “senior prank” so I thought it had something to do with seniors….not as in high school seniors….but adults over 65 being inappropriately pranked! This whole thing might have been clearer with the simple addition of one word, as in, “senior class prank goes awry.” I still don’t understand what happened exactly. Here is where, as a senior, I ask for everyone’s forbearance: I am clueless based on how the article is written, what exactly happened, who was insulted, how it was handled by way of explanations and/or apologies in the aftermath. It sounds like a high school performance, i.e. part-sketch comedy, part “Oh, aren’t we topical and clever.” Despite the comments above, I am not following who was marginalized or insulted, and what the organizers of the “event” had to say about their intentions and their responsibility for the end result.