By Erin Miller

Editor in Chief

In response to a prank played by a group of unknown students, Calvin administrators first decided to halt distribution of all ``Names and Faces'' books, then decided that the books would be made available, about a week later than originally planned.

Added to each book will be a letter, composed by Student Senate Secretary Rob Nederhood, that, if successful by the standards of the administration and student leaders alike, will cause students to stop and think about the prank itself, as well as the consequences of pranks in general.

``I think it will force students who read it to think more about it,'' Nederhood said. ``It's not condemning. I hope that the fact that it's written by students and not administrators will cause students to read it.''

The prank - stickers with a picture of President Gaylen Byker stuck on random pages in an undetermined number of books - was first discovered last Wednesday, when students working for the Student Development Office were handing out the ``Names and Faces'' directories to off-campus students in Johnny's.

When one of the students noticed the sticker, it was brought to the Student Development Office. Lori Gesink, the administrative assistant in that office, took a copy of the book to Vice President for Student Life Shirley Hoogstra, while Assistant Dean for Student Development John Britton took a copy to Byker.

According to Jane Hendriksma, Dean for Residence Life, the decision to hold the books was made in case just a few students' pictures had been targeted with the stickers.

Thursday afternoon, Hoogstra sent an e-mail to the Student-News list, asking students involved with the prank to turn themselves in, as well as telling students the potential consequences of the prank, including delayed distribution of the books and a proposal to begin charging students for the books to cover the cost of reprinting the books. After the initial discussion, Hendriksma said that the administration decided not to reprint.

``I don't think that was a serious consideration,'' she said.

While the initial brouhaha seemed to arise over the prank itself, the administration later switched its focus to the entry into two administrative offices and what they consider distrust within the community and a disrespectful attitude toward the administration. Also troubling to the administration was an interview that ran in last week's edition of Chimes, conducted anonymously with someone claiming to have committed the prank.

``The tone of the prank was fairly innocuous,'' Hendriksma said. ``The tone of the article was not. There are two issues here. One, that you would print it, and two, the tone of the responses to the questions.

``I think there could have been a decision not to print it,'' she added. ``There's no opportunity to challenge it.''

That whoever answered the questions for the interview did not provide a name was especially troublesome, Hendriksma said.

Also problematic was the way in which both Byker and Campus Safety were addressed. Hendriksma said the idea that the pranksters were helping Campus Safety by exposing potential flaws in their patrolling routines - as the interviewee said - did nothing more than harass the officers and force them to protect the campus from the students, instead of protecting students from potential dangers.

``We need each other to keep it safe,'' she said. ``We need people to work with us on that. We can't underestimate the need for security. We cannot do this alone.''

Some students have expressed confusion at the seemingly contradictory stance the college has taken on pranking. The college has in campus publications, including The Spark, the alumni magazine, lauded past pranks, while cracking down on pranks played during the present.

Hendriksma said that while the administration can appreciate a good prank, pranks can come with unexpected consequences.

``It does take some planning and careful thought,'' she said. ``The issue [is] when people get hurt or property is damaged. It's more of a challenge to pull a prank like that.''

Despite the fallout of the prank and the tone of the alleged pranksters in the interview last week, Hendriksma believes that most Calvin students do not share the attitude shown in that letter.

``Most students at Calvin are easy to work with and responsible, and I think they understand, they use a lot of empathy,'' she said. ``I haven't met too many Calvin students with that attitude.''

Pranks and their unintended consequences aside, the ``Names and Faces'' books will be distributed soon, likely by the end of this week or early next week.