Dexter Students Raise $15,000 for Charity; Future of 'Senior Survivor' Event Uncertain

students involved in a week-long fundraiser for tornado families raised $15,000, school officials announced on Friday.

The money was raised through the school's third annual "" charity event.

"I'm impressed with the amount of money students raised at this year's 'Senior Survivor,'" Al Snider, DHS student council adviser said.

The wildly popular competition has been a tradition at the high school, and pits six teams of seniors (a boy and a girl) against one another in a "winner take all" challenge to see who can earn the most points and raise the most money through a series of games organized by DHS Student Council members. At the end of the week, the team left standing selects a charity of their choice to donate the prize money.

This year the event was cut short after two days, following an undisclosed incident involving students and faculty at the high school. Snider declined to comment on the cancellation, stating that he's not sure whether or not the event will be held in the future.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen," he said. "We are reviewing our plans and we will determine at a later time whether or not we will host 'Senior Survivor' again."

In the past, the fundraiser has helped raise money for the American Cancer Society and the United Nations Foundation.

"This year we decided that all of the money raised will be donated to the Dexter Tornado Relief Fund and Faith in Action," Snider said.

A game of friendly competition

"Senior Survivor" is the brainchild of Snider, who brought the fundraiser to Dexter in 2009 after witnessing a similar event at Howell High School. Student teams are selected via a pool of applicants a week before the competition. A senior girl and boy are randomly assigned together and tasked to raise as much money as they can prior to the event kick-off, which this year took place on April 23.

"Students raise money before the event by selling T-shirts. They can also raise money throughout the week of 'Senior Survivor' with bake sales at lunch, and other fundraisers," Snider explained.

Throughout the week, teams must, eat, sleep and shower at the school, while attending classes as well as competing in challenges, such as human tic-tac-toe. Points are awarded to teams based on how quickly they can complete a challenge or how much money they raise at the end of each day. The team that wins the least amount of challenges is eliminated and sent home nightly until only one team remains.

"We raise a lot of money, but the main goal is to help students bond with each other," Snider said. "By the end of the week the teams involved with 'Senior Survivor' form a really strong friendship. That's always nice to see because the contestants come from a wide range of backgrounds and personalities. We try to get a good cross section of the student population."

Ongoing inquires from Patch staff about the fundraiser's cancellation have been referred to DHS administration officials, who released a press release on April 27.

"We regret that this action was necessary but it was important to investigate the incident for all concerned," Principal Kit Moran said.

According to an article in The Squall, the DHS student newspaper, the event was canceled due to "an incident involving physical contact between 'Senior Survivor' participants and one of the overnight supervisors."

The newspaper reported that one student received a two-day suspension and three students received a Saturday detention for "impeding movement" of a DHS faculty member.

Moran declined comment on the incident other than acknowledging that no one was injured.

"To protect the privacy of those involved, no further comment about the investigation will be made. We have heard students spreading rumors at school that were based on inaccurate conclusions and statements. Our school has proven to support its students and we will continue to work together to be ethical citizens of Dexter High School," Moran said in the press release.

According to The Squall, all four students appealed the disciplinary action and have since had their punishments revoked.

"It boils down to joking around and a huge misunderstanding, and then that understanding being blown way out of proportion," one of the students involved in the incident told The Squall. "I still maintain that we didn’t do anything wrong. I think the punishments were doled out based on an incorrect perception of that evening’s events.”

The Squall is also reporting that DHS officials may release more detailed information about the incident once they have reviewed all of the security footage at the high school.