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Photo by Joe Rice
Officer Lindsay Paradise has not had to deal with any majors problems regarding the Nerf War yet. Paradise said, "We (SAHS staff) are all aware of what is going on, but it has not really affected any of us yet." The Nerf War has not seemed to amount to anything more than a distraction for most teachers but Paradise seems pretty pleased with how disciplined students have been with following the rules. "I have only seen the Nerf guns in cars so far and that is how it should stay," said Paradise. As long as students continue to do as they are told, there should not be any academic problems with the Nerf War as far as Paradise is concerned.

Stillwater’s Nerf war is back. Around 450 students at Stillwater Area High School are running around town shooting each other with Nerf guns, all with the goal of achieving the huge jackpot of money. Stillwater’s Nerf war was introduced to the school last year by a few seniors and the tradition continued this year and should for many years to come. The war brings together different groups of kids and cause a certain level of intensity among the school’s student body.

The Stillwater Nerf war is a war around Stillwater organized and administered by four seniors. The objective is to eliminate all other teams until a team has the last man standing.

This is the second straight year the Stillwater Nerf war has been organized by a group of seniors. The Nerf war is extremely popular around school, bringing in more than 450 participants, each paying a five dollar fee towards the ultimate jackpot.

Senior David Guild said, “This year we wanted to follow up what the seniors did last year. A lot of people were asking if we were going to have the Nerf war again this year and a lot of kids seemed intrigued by the idea, especially sophomores that hadn’t participated the year before. We also wanted people to have something fun to look back on in high school other than prom and football games.”

What do you think of the Nerf war?

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The war began on April 20 and the money to participate was due on April 17 so the administrators had time to organize themselves and benefit everyone participating in it. Given that each student must pay to enter the war, teams of five each paid five dollars per person, while teams of six paid an additional ten for their sixth person.

“The person with the most eliminations at the end of the war receives $100, while the winning team receives around two grand, divided up among five or six kids, depending how many players are on their team,” Guild explained.

Participants of the war take it to another level when it comes to winning by changing their daily lives to accommodate the wars.

Sophomore Mitch Bailey said, “I enjoy the Nerf war because it’s fun when everyone’s into it. A certain level of competition arises while riding around chasing people down. It brings an adrenaline rush to you. The intensity is great. The first couple weeks everyone is out trying to rack up eliminations. Basically if you have a parking pass, you are due to be followed after school.” Bailey mentioned that he no longer rides the bus for fear of getting eliminated.

The Nerf war is not just hundreds of teenage kids running around with plastic guns filled with foam bullets; there are rules incorporated into the game. In order to be safe with the law, administrators make sure nobody violates the law or does anything stupid that would put others lives in danger. No trespassing is allowed either. Houses, garages and various businesses that did not want to be involved with the war such as River Valley Athletic Club, Nutrition Revolution and Squeeze It, have been declared safe zones. It is also safe to walk to and from your car at work, but once you enter your car, war is on.

Students are fearless when it comes to earning eliminations, doing whatever it takes to rack up “kills.” If a team earns ten kills and has one team member dead, they are able revive that person.

Bailey said, “I go to the extent of jumping on top of parked cars to shoot people if their sunroof is open and I see a safe opportunity. If you have to break a truce here and there with a buddy, you have to do it because after all, it’s just a game.”