Dr. Robert Scott's card covered in business cards. (Photo from Facebook.)There was a time when a clever school prank could cheer up someone’s day and make the end of the year exciting and memorable. Osbourn Park High School in Manassas is reviving the age-old tradition.
Dr. Robert Scott, AP Capstone teacher at Osbourn Park High School, is also a published writer. His newest mystery "Business Card" was just recently released, but his students received a sneak preview of the thriller.
“Many of my students have read it and tried to deduce who the murder is – something different for them with the writer in the room as they read. Much of the evidence in the story relates to the passing back and forth of certain business cards,” said Scott
As Scott is one of their favorite teachers and also a known prankster, three of his Capstone students decided to play an elaborate prank on him.
The culprits were seniors Corey Shepard and Sami Gordon and junior Grace Sheehy said Scott.
View of the car from the back. (Facebook photo.)Thursday before Memorial Day, Scott was walking to his car in the teacher parking lot; there he found it completely covered in business cards. Upon closer inspection, the green business cards featured his face. He realized he had been pranked.
However, the pranksters did not act alone. They were aided and abetted by OPHS Principal Neil Beech, various teachers at the school, members of security staff and parents. The administration even decided to get special education students involved.
The students even went so far to create and print 1500 color-copy business card, which included a humorous mock bio with a “ridiculous description.” Then they received additional business cards from people in the community who had been "complicit" in their scheme. He was staggered that they had enough cards to cover his entire car.
Fake business cards plastered all over the KIA Soul. (Facebook photo.)The business cards were a fitting tribute to the release of "Business Card," and created a Herculean task for Scott who spent 90 minutes in the hot sun removing all of the cards from his vehicle.
Scott was shocked, but he deeply appreciated the prank and the time and effort everyone put into it.
“I knew they had truly pulled off something epic," he said.
Scott guessed the students heard of some of the legendary pranks he pulled on students in the past, such as mounting a musty stuffed deer head to the front of a student’s car.
“I’m still worried when the thing is going to show up again. I’m sure it’ll be at something important – a board of education meeting or a book release party," he said.
He has also witnessed to some an amazing school prank played on others, such as in Denver where students hung a Volkswagen Beetle upside down from the gymnasium rafters. "It was certainly creative," Scott said, saying he cannot claim to know whether it was safe from an engineering perspective.
All in all, he is a big fan of school pranks as long as they are not illegal acts and no one gets hurt.
Mock bio of Dr. Robert Scott written by his students. (Courtesy of Robert Scott.)"Safe, creative pranks that aren’t dangerous or offensive are a tradition I’ve always enjoyed as a high school teacher and administrator," he said. "Some teachers disagree, but I like the way they can ease some of the stress, tension, and especially the exhaustion we're all carrying at this point in the year."
He expects the business card prank will live on in infamy at least among Yellow Jackets.
"Thursday's business cards prank was the best practical joke students have played on me in 25 years. I’m the fortunate one."
Of the three pranksters, Scott noted that Corey is headed to the Air Force Academy. Sami is headed to the Capstone Program at the University of South Carolina, and Grace will be back at OPHS next year as a senior.
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