PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — It’s become a five-year tradition, but seniors at Shawnee Mission East High School say the dance party and chant in the boys bathroom the Friday before a big game is toast.
“Club Bano” — a relatively harmless high school prank — got a little out of control recently.
“There were three people on urinals, and one of them was just installed two days earlier so it wasn’t as sturdy,” said George Colby, senior at Shawnee Mission East.
“I was one of the many people standing on a urinal and mine just collapsed and broke,” added Thomas Allegri, another senior at the school.
“I just kind of stood there frozen for a split second, kind of like everyone else, it got silent in there… and then everyone just bolted out of there,” Andrew Stottle, also a senior, said.
It was the day before a big basketball game; seniors at Shawnee Mission East were preparing for “Club Bano” –the Spanish word for bathroom.
“There can be up to like 100, it gets packed in there,” said Colby about the number of students who participate.
A student came up with the idea in 2010 to get pumped up for big games.
“It’s just fun to get a bunch of guys to chant together,” added Colby.
This time, though, a urinal broke.
“It’s very unlucky, because everyone is on the sinks, the bathrooms, the bathroom stalls, and mine just happened to break,” said Allegri.
So they continued the celebration in a different bathroom.
“I was like I might as well make this the best Bano yet, because it will probably be the last one, and then I was like I’ll probably get suspended for this,” Allegri said.
He turned himself in and was suspended for one day, and had to pay to fix it. They set up a GoFundme where classmates and alumni helped raise $500.
“It could have happened to any of us, so we felt like it was unfair for him to have to pay,” said Colby.
The school principal says while they encourage school spirit — safety comes first.
“While I appreciate their exuberance and their spirit, I would be opposed to any activity that put the safety of our students at risk, that jeopardized school property, that wasn`t conducive to the learning environment that we`re trying to create,” said Principal John McKinney.
Students say they hope Club Bano continues, but maybe with some restrictions.
“I think it’s one of the great things about Shawnee Mission East, maybe no more standing on the urinals, but I think it should be able to continue, 100 percent,” said Stottle.
“We are thinking about putting a plaque above the urinal since we can’t physically take part in ‘Club Bano,’ it will always be there in that bathroom,” added Allegri.
The seniors say they raised more money than the urinal cost, so they talked about donating it to the Tyler Foundation — for a 3-year-old with Leukemia that the school’s basketball team adopted and supports.
They say at least one positive thing came out of it.
