Some of the changes being made to the games appear to be token reactions, while others have been major. Like Westport's, the Conard game is not sanctioned by the school and is completely run by students. The rules for the games prohibit shootings on school grounds. Conard principal Chuck Landroche made a rare special announcement over the public-address system to encourage students to discontinue the game in light of Littleton, but to no avail. After a heated assembly at Sharon High School, about 30 miles south of Boston, seniors canceled their squirt-gun Assassination game and are thinking about holding a class cookout or taking a trip to a water park.
Students there admit that the game had been getting out of hand, anyway.
Michael Schindelar, the senior class president, said that one year the game resulted in five car accidents. In this haven for overachievers, even Assassination is exclusive. Opponents of the game say they expect their protest cookout to attract about 40 of the roughly 90 students who were eligible for the game. Matt Cass, a senior, said students were concerned about their image if they were seen popping out of bushes with toy guns. But supporters of the game think the boycott barbecue represents a ridiculous overreaction.