TikTok challenges destroying district bathrooms

BOYERTOWN » School bathrooms in the district are being vandalized by students who are recording the damage for TikTok videos, the district superintendent said.

During the regular school board work session Tuesday, Superintendent MaryBeth Torchia informed the board about the disturbing trend.

Things like soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers are being torn from the wall and stolen as part of a contest trend on the social media video platform, she said.

The “Bathroom Challenge” involves destroying bathroom components and the one who causes the most damage is “the winner,” Torchia said.

The “Devious Licks Challenge” on TikTok involves stealing all kinds of equipment.

In some schools across the nation, it involves things as expensive as smart boards and microscopes, according to a video about the tend posted on YouTube.

Torchia warned that criminal charges have been, and will continue to be, levied against students who undertake such acts.

They will also be suspended from school, Torchia said.

No specific messages about the trend were evident on the district website, but an ABC News story about Torchia’s comments was posted on the district’s Facebook page.

One video, not from Boyertown, showed a hands-free paper towel dispenser being pulled from a backpack. It boasted 2.3 million likes in less than a week before it was taken down, according to a post on the news site Insider.

“We expect our community to stay safe and create responsibly, and we do not allow content that promotes or enables criminal activities. We are removing this content and redirecting hashtags and search results to our Community Guidelines to discourage such behavior,” a TikTok spokesperson told Insider.