Milton Area High School’s senior skit tradition came to a screeching halt this past December when the administration reviewed the contents of the skit.
Co-Principal Mr. Michael Bergey said he had been in “disbelief,” after seeing the problematic contents of the script. “And it wasn’t in everything; it was a few aspects of it,” he added. “I couldn’t believe it was a legitimate ask of the individuals that were bringing that to be a part of the skit.”
“I think everyone was pretty bummed about it getting canceled, because it was going to be really funny and good, but it was taken out of hand,” said Senior Alysia Prieto, who had planned to narrate the senior skit.
According to Mr. Bergey, since he began working here in 2001, the tradition of the senior skit has been the same: “Lighthearted faculty pokes fun at the things students have done, and the students get to do the exact same thing.” He described the senior skit as a “mini-roast.”
Mr. Bergey said that the senior skit is an event that underclassmen look forward to eventually participating in. “I know it’s not for all seniors, but for some it’s like a rite of passage,” he added.
Mr. Bergey said he knows the seniors who were preparing for over a month for the skit were “pretty upset.” He added he is unsure of the extent of displeasure for the other seniors.
According to Mr. Bergey, this was not the first time the skit was cancelled. Mr. Bergey said that he is also not closing the door to all skits in the future. He added that parodying teachers or faculty could be removed from future skits.
Mr. Bergey added that it could be an option to have the faculty write an outline of the senior skit and have students revise it as the process goes along.
Mr. Bergey said that his concern this year had been how far students may go off script. He added that seniors performing in front of the whole school may “get their adrenaline going” and behave in an “off color” manner.
The faculty skit was cancelled out of fairness, said Mr. Bergey, adding that students may have asked, “Why aren’t we allowed to poke fun at teachers, but the teachers can stand up there poking fun at us?”
According to Mr. Bergey, there are no current plans to host another attempt at the Class of 2024 Senior Skit.
Alysia added that the students put a lot of time and effort into the skit to try and make “one of the best skits the school has seen in a while.”
“We lost the trust of the supervisors, which is understandable, but I think we still should have been allowed to do it, just modified,” said Alysia.
“The reality of it is 20 years ago–30 years ago, it was a different world than it is right now and I would not want to put any of our teachers in a position where they felt offended or upset,” said Mr. Bergey.
