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MILLCREEK — Graduation ceremonies will be held Friday at Skyline High School.
But a 17-year-old senior may not be attending because of an end-of-year prank that now has him facing criminal charges.
The boy drove a motorcycle through the hallways of the school Tuesday.
"(He) got down two or three halls before being intercepted by administration," Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley said.
The Unified Police Department cited the teen for reckless driving and disrupting a school. He could face a fine and possibly have his driver's license suspended, Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell said.
"So it doesn't make it as humorous as I think he intended," Horsley said.
Horsley said he could not comment on what kind of discipline the student was facing from the school, only noting that the "appropriate punishment that fits the situation" would be applied.
One of the fears for police and school administrators was that the student could have crashed and injured himself or other students. Bell called the prank a "poor decision."
Another fear is that students will see the attention the boy has received and how he has "made a name for himself" and then "try to one-up it the next year," Horsley said. That's why appropriate punishment will be handed down, he said, to try to deter next year's seniors.
The incident was videotaped and posted on YouTube but later deleted. Bell said he has seen videos of similar pranks at other schools outside of Utah.
"I have no doubt that this student was influenced by social media and MTV and other outlets that really encourage and incentivize this kind of behavior," Horsley said, referring to viral videos on social media and reality TV programs that glamorize wild stunts and pranks.
On Facebook, students, Skyline alumni and members of the public were mixed on their reactions to the incident. Some felt it wasn't a big deal and the school district was being too hard on the teen.
One person called the ride a "harmless prank" and told those who were upset about it to "quit whining."
Another, however, said the student "deserves whatever punishment they throw at him. … We live in such self-entitlement age where we think we can do whatever we want just because you exist in this world."
