Students damage bathrooms after viral Tiktok challenge
Prompts property theft, pilfering from teachers
Soap dispensers ripped from bathroom walls. Fake blood dumped in toilets and urinals. Faucets and handles in need of repair.
Those are just some of the reasons school bathrooms in multiple districts across Greater Columbus are closed this week thanks to a new viral Tiktok challenge that encourages students to vandalize school property.
The “Devious Licks Challenge” prompts students to damage and steal school property, as well as pilfer from their teachers.
Tiktok announced on Twitter Wednesday that it would remove related content and redirect hashtags and search results.
But that hasn't stopped students from participating in the challenge.
Westerville City Schools restricted bathroom access in at least two of its middle schools this week after reports of vandalism in the district, said district spokesman Greg Viebranz.
“Students can still use the bathroom, but those that are available to them are also being closely monitored for who is accessing them,” he said.
Westerville has had reports from middle and high schools of bathroom vandalism and theft, and at least one report of theft from a staff member. Food coloring was splattered on the bathroom walls and toilets at one Westerville school. Viebranz said principals at each school have made announcements, met with students and made plans to address the incidents with
families.
Walnut Springs Middle School Principal Rebecca Yanni said in a message to parents that she's asking parents and guardians to have a conversation with their children “to strongly discourage them from participating in this destructive trend.” Bathroom entrances at the school are being monitored by security cameras and school leaders have been modifying how they are monitoring bathroom access.
“The bottom line is that these actions amount to theft and destruction of property. In addition to school discipline, students also will likely face criminal charges,” Yanni said. “Families will be held responsible for the cost of repairs or replacement of any property that is damaged or stolen.”
In Southwest Licking Heights School District, Watkins Memorial High School Principal Melissa Ladowitz sent a similar message to parents on Tuesday.
Ladowitz said students have ripped soap dispensers off the wall and put them in the toilets, filled sinks and toilets with paper towels, and twisted faucets until they broke. Bathrooms have also been sprayed with chocolate milk, and toilets and urinals in the boys restroom were filled with fake blood.
She blames some of the behavior on the Tiktok challenge.
Watkins Memorial has increased its bathroom monitoring, as well as introduced an anonymous reporting system. She's hopeful these steps will help stem the vandalism, but if not, the school is prepared to use “an electronic classroom sign-out system that will track when each student is out of the classroom,” she said in her email.
The new system would also include bathroom checks every class period, as Ladowitz said it's believed the majority of these issues occur during class time rather than during class changes.
“Our kids deserve to learn in a vandalism-free, well-kept building,” Ladowitz said.
Southwest Licking Heights School District did not immediately respond to
The Dispatch's request for comment.
Parents of Columbus Gifted Academy students, a Columbus City Schools building that serves grade 3-8, received an email Thursday afternoon from Director Amanda Reidenbaugh about “several incidents” of damage related to the Tiktok challenge.
Columbus City Schools spokeswoman Jacqueline Bryant said a CGA student threw a small bag of soap on the school's roof and is facing “appropriate disciplinary measures.” Bryant said she is unaware of any other Tiktok challenge-related incidents at other Columbus City Schools.
Other districts around the state and country have experienced similar damages.
Several students at Rocky River City Schools near Cleveland have been suspended from participating in the Tiktok challenge and are facing potential criminal charges. Boone County Schools in Northern Kentucky reported eight students in the district were charged with vandalism and theft for offenses related to the trend.
shendrix@dispatch.com