Christopher High School Principal John Perales is dispelling rumors of wild animals running through the halls and wanton graffiti as a result of a senior prank gone wrong. He concedes that some vandalism did take place on campus around midnight May 16, but adds that rumors floating around the community have blown the incident way out of proportion.
“I heard that a cougar had been released on campus,” he laughed.
What did happen, explained Perales, was that a dozen students overturned some tables, broke three umbrellas, cut a flag pole cable and threw around some trash at the relatively brand new campus located on the city’s northwest side.
“Some folks weren’t as mature as they could have been,” said a disappointed Perales, adding that the overwhelming majority of the graduating seniors were extremely upset by the damage.
Gilroy Police Department officers arrived at CHS at 1:42 a.m. in the early morning hours following the incident and met with Assistant Principal Greg Kapaku, according to GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza. The attending officers took a report and then deferred handling of the incident to the high school’s administrative staff, added Espinoza.
A total of 12 students have been suspended, according to Perales.
“We meet with the entire senior class and remind them of their legacy,” he explained. “We tell them, ‘if you want to do a prank, then do something funny.’”
One woman who alerted the Dispatch to the incident works in the Child Nutrition Department at Gilroy High School and is suspicious about why CHS didn’t address the rumors sooner. She heard the rumors, albeit the slightly more outlandish ones, from friends who have children at CHS.
“That wasn’t senior pranks, that was vandalism,” she said.
