Slightly used :lmfao:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...calchicago-hed

Student bids for a senior prank
Niles North put on sale on eBay

By M. Daniel Gibbard
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 9, 2004

For a few days, Niles North High School was the biggest bargain on the Internet, a top-notch school for sale--cheap--on eBay.

"It has full athletic facilities and many [classrooms]," the online description read in part.

"Included are several million dollars in slightly used electronic devices ... If bid goes over 5 dollars, will add state ranked chess team. Faculty is not included with bid but may be purchased at nominal cost."

Alas, the "seller" was a member of the senior class and the "auction" was a joke.

"It was an attempt to carry on the tradition of senior pranks without offending anyone or doing anything resulting in vandalism," said the student, who uses the eBay alias mattfish86. Contacted by e-mail, mattfish86 agreed to a telephone interview on the condition that he not be named.

He said others collaborated on the idea, but mattfish86 did not have complete confidence that everyone would be as amused as they were and did not want to risk any dire consequences.

"I don't graduate until tomorrow," he said Tuesday.

The auction ran from Friday night through Monday night, and attracted more than a dozen bids. Some were Niles North teachers playing along with the joke, but other bids apparently were serious, including an offer of more than $14,000, said the student.

Those bids were canceled with an e-mail that said, "Thanks for playing in the 2004 senior prank."

School officials called the stunt harmless and said they do not plan to investigate who was responsible.

"We brushed it off as seniors getting a little rowdy at the end of the year," said Karen Bednarz, spokeswoman for Niles Township High School District 219. "It's funny."

A spokesman for eBay said it's a new one to him.

"It's an inventive and creative high school prank," Hani Durzy said. "There are 25 million items for sale at any given time, so it's tough for us to monitor them all."

The item would have to be removed, Durzy said.

"Not to be a killjoy, but technically it is a violation of our policy: You can't sell something you don't own."

At the Skokie school Tuesday, underclassmen generally gave the seniors positive feedback.

"I thought it was hysterical, personally, especially that people actually bid on it," said junior Adina Sheinin.

Sophomore Andrew Peterson said not everyone at school thought it was a classic prank, but he liked it.

"I thought it was very funny," he said. "It's a good senior prank because it didn't hurt anyone."

Some seniors wanted to glue the school locks shut, Peterson said.

Speculation about what stunt the seniors planned to pull was a hot topic, Sheinin said.

One of the rumors was a mass release of crickets in the school, so the auction came as a relief, she said.

"For once, it was something the school didn't have to clean up after," she said.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

 

niiiiiice

I especially liked the part about including the chess team :lmfao: