![Daring Seniors marked the last day of classes by jumping into the lake for an
early-afternoon splash across campus. Not even the strong odors of the murky
waters could diminish the excitement and joy that permeated the crowds of
swimmers and on-lookers.](https://thepharcyte.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screen-Shot-2024-05-17-at-10.39.48-AM.png)
The school continues the annual tradition of the senior lake jump on Friday, May 3rd. However, seniors expressed mixed feelings about participating in the tradition.
The school has held the lake jump since the 2006-07 school year. The first was a senior prank; since then, the event has become a Benjamin tradition.
Despite the storied tradition of the lake jump, this year’s seniors did not agree on their participation, primarily because of concerns over the lake’s cleanliness.
For instance, senior Hudson Byrne participated in the lake jump.
“I have been looking forward to the lake jump since I came to this school. It looked so fun, with all of the funny life jackets and the floaties, and I finally got to experience that,” said Byrne.
Similarly, senior Meriel Smith jumped in the lake but took some precautions to protect himself from what she believes is unsafe water.
“I had a big floatie because I did not want to get wet. The water looked very gross, but I did not want to miss out on an opportunity like this,” Smith explained.
With the unsafeness, Mrs. Kaitlyn Ballard tested the water earlier in the month.
“We did a water quality test, and we tested the ten factors that go into the score of the lake. We did it three times since I teach three APES classes. They split up into groups and
find out the tests on their own,” Ballard explained. “Overall, it was seen at around a score of 70 or 71 out of 100, which goes to the scale of ‘good quality.’’
It is safe to say that the administration’s hard work made this year’s lake jump as successful as those of years past