'Banana boys' suspended for senior prank. So was the Gorilla.

This from the Waukegan News Sun:

A senior prank at Zion-Benton Township High School seemed quite humorous at first. But as a group of students quickly learned, the administration isn't amused with monkey business.

Zion-Benton High School students re-created their senior prank at Village Park in Winthrop Harbor on Tuesday. Eleven students were suspended for seven days after one dressed up in a gorilla costume and chased 10 wearing banana costumes through the school last Thursday.

And so -- after 10 students in larger-than-life banana costumes ran the halls of the high school with an eleventh student dressed as a gorilla giving chase -- the boys are on the raw end of a seven-day suspension.

The prank started innocently. Senior Andrew Leinonen, who will study criminal justice at Carthage College this fall, wanted to do something that wouldn't damage property or hurt anyone, while still being hilarious.

"What's funnier than a gorilla chasing bananas through a school? Nothing," Leinonen said. "It was a harmless prank."

Leinonen -- who played the role of the gorilla -- went on a recruiting mission, quickly finding 10 guys willing to pay $30 for a banana costume. The group drew up a plan and picked a route. They planned to wear black pantyhose on their heads to remain anonymous, and even planned for escape vehicles.

The boys entered the school's main entrance around noon last Thursday and made their way through the English and science hallways before running into a crowded lunch room and then out a back door. All the while they flailed their arms and yelled "Seniors '08."

The prank was quick, and almost painless. Four bananas were rounded up by school security and the plan would soon unravel. By the next day, the boys were slapped with a suspension and at risk of missing prom as well as being kept off the stage at graduation.

Zion-Benton Township High School Superintendent Deborah Clarke said she couldn't comment on punishment because of student confidentially concerns. Clarke said the school followed guidelines in place for what they consider "serious pranks."

"We're basically enforcing our policy," Clarke said.

The same policy led to five-day suspensions for kids caught fighting in school.

The punishment was not welcomed at first. None of the "Banana Boys" had ever been in big trouble before.

In support of them, other students planned protests. A private group dedicated to "Saving the Banana Boys" was even set up on MySpace.com.

But fearing that the school may carry out its threat to keep them from prom and graduation, the "Banana Boys" said they advised others to relax and agreed to peacefully serve their punishment before returning to class May 2.

"We think this is a just punishment," said Brendon Epker, a banana who'll attend Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., in the fall. "We broke rules we shouldn't have broken."

Video: Banana Boys