May 23rd, 2014. A sunny day. But behind the smiling faces of the soon to graduate seniors, there was an underlying darkness. They knew that this would not be a game. This was a war. Dylan Heuer was overheard saying, “People will leave today not as friends, but as enemies.” Face paint lined the bathroom sinks and the smell of colored hairspray filled the senior corridor. In the end, the fields were covered in blood, sweat and tears. However, once all was said and done, Color War clearly unified every senior and left them all with a strong sense of community and jubilation.
Games played consisted of dodgeball, kickball, “Family Feud,” a dance off, tug-of-war, charades, a relay race, and capture the flag. Many seniors stressed that “Family Feud” and the dance off were the two best and most droll games played. The dance off also consisted of a surprise so called “prom-posal.” Along with new games played this year, there were new colors and teams making for twelve teams in total. There were the classic colors: Red, Orange, Green, Pink, Purple, Black, White, Gold, Navy and Light Blue. Besides the basic color teams there was also team America and team Tie-dye.
Every senior was dressed head to toe in vibrant themed and coordinated outfits which helped create even more excitement. Along with the enthusiasm of intense competition, many were surprised by the senior pranks that popped up throughout day. There seemed to be some sort of correlation between colored teams and their pranks. First appeared pink duct tape on the lockers, followed by blue balloons in sophomore hallway, fish in the sinks with green rocks, toilet paper removed (and was replaced with orange duct tape) and a loud set of speakers locked inside a locker.
What was truly amazing about this day was not only that injuries were kept to a minimum, but also that there was a true “underdog” tint to the story. Carolyn Susman commented on the respect that they had for the Light Blue team, lead by Will Magliocco and Maddie Dejesus. They started out the day not winning many games, and not very strong. However when push came to shove the whole team worked as one organism and surprisingly won in the end. This heart warming underdog tale reminded everyone of the strong community that they would shortly be leaving. Many seniors described Friday as a great “last hoorah” at Fieldston.
The senior class would like to thank, in particular, Julia Case-Levine, who organized the whole day and who deserves as much of the credit as the teachers, deans, and facilities team who helped make Color War a possibility. Every senior took part in Color War with childlike delight and eagerness, making it an exceptional day indeed.
