School: Police Not Truthful About 'Craziest' Prank Ever

To hear police tell it, last week's senior prank at Teaneck High School was "the craziest thing I've ever seen," one officer told NBC 4, after 63 kids were arrested for allegedly urinating in hallways, flipping desks, graffittiing walls, and putting petroleum jelly on doorknobs. But the school says those reports are grossly exaggerated, with dozens of students attending an after-school rally to support the arrested seniors yesterday—after the students returned from a four-day suspension. Principal Dennis Heck addressed them in solidarity, the Record reports. "Sometimes perception and reality are really far apart," he said. "You are the reality."

The school says there was no evidence of urine, or any permanent damage. Custodians even donated their time to clean up the mess, to express their disdain for the bad publicity, and some parents say they were aware in advance and considered the prank harmless. "A lot of people want to say we're bad kids, and we're really not," one honors student tells NBC. "I went, blew up some balloons, and then I got arrested by the cops." (More Teaneck High School stories.)