Prompt: Write about a memorable prank that happened at NCSSM during your stay.
Due Date: August 11, 2025
Details: Write about a prank that you instigated, or a prank in which you were the victim, or a prank that you witnessed, while you were at the School of Science and Math between 1980 and 1982.
Alternatively, write about life on your residence hall, and how you let off steam when you weren't busy studying. (Don't write about a time when you got in trouble. The judicial system (Phase system) will be the subject of a later prompt.)
Blog landing page URL: https: https://half-sheet-of-paper-workshop.blogspot.com/
New Post URL: https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/6942635268531392674
Background:
The following excerpt from the 1982 yearbook, describes how interactions (including pranks) contributed to the communal experience of life on campus:
The elements have been gathered, but only through interactions could the warmth and spirit of the NCSSM community have been created. In a wide variety of activities we have interacted and learned about the universe, ourselves, and others. Early-morning talks, trips to the bank, studying with friends, and other everyday experiences have revealed different facets of others' personalities: the determined student, the dorm prankster, or the concerned roommate.....
Evening memories of eating a pizza with a friend, dances in the assembly hall, or a game of spades become special. Lifelong friendships have been created, and we have become a closely-knit community. The elements and their interaction is the essence of the NCSSM experience.[Odyssey 1982; page 47; DigitalNC.org]
Warning: This story is going to be blunt and written exactly as I speak because I find that the way I speak, even though at times it may be rather dull, is not nearly as dull as my writing is.
I volunteered to write about pranks in Hill House because I am frequently in on a large portion of them. We all know about the really obvious pranks played on the American Studies teachers, for we are all there to witness the out comes, but not everyone knows what goes on after curfew in Hill House. I would say that one of the most obnoxious and common pranks of Hill is the old glass of water on top of the door trick. For a while, I was so paranoid about door opening, that my mother was asking me why I looked up every time I went into my room at home-strange.
There is also the great trick of pouring a bucket of ice and water on innocent showerers. I, personally enjoyed pulling this one because the girl whom my colleague and I dumped it on was stupid enough to yell "Ha-Ha! you missed," which led us to dump about 12 more buckets, most of which did not miss. Unfortunately, my colleague and I had to camp out in a lounge that night due to the wet toilet paper woven into our bed covers. I didn't get rid of all of it until 5 days later when I changed my sheets.
Speaking of sheets, at the present moment there is a gang of short-sheeters ravishing the dorm. This is one of the best ways to teach people to lock their doors.
Another reason for locking doors is that quite often, bedrooms get "t.p.ed." The worst incident occurred during the horrible week long toilet paper shortage. Talk about "rubbing it in your face."
There was also another drastic shortage around here one night. When Dr. Wilson was being a "pretend" R.A. By her very own astute observation skills, she realized that the entire population of the first floor was nowhere to be found. After almost 30 minutes, she checked the down stairs bathroom and found them all crammed in the showers. She had thought that the moving curtains were a result of the fungis usually found in the stalls but fortunately she was wrong.
One of my favorites is where I knock on the resident door and wait for them to answer and surprise threw with some sort of a stunt or another. My most successful one went as follows:Knock Knock"Come in"30 seconds of silence"Come in!"30 seconds"Come In!"Knock, Knock, Knock.“*#* it, I said, COME IN! ''-have noise of getting up out of bed and stomping, not walking, but stomping toward the door. The handle turns. The door opens and the occupant looks for the loud metallic clicking sound. She looks down to Her feet to find an ugly, tacky, china town, metal duck running in circles.Well, this article, if that's what you prefer to call it, has been drug (drugs! Oh No!) out long enough. Those are only a few of the pranks pulled in 'Hill House" after curfew.
Love, Yours truly,
[Public Display of Announcements, May 22, 1981; Other Campus and Student Publications; NCSSM Digital Collections]
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