Local Schools Deal With TikTok Challenges
October 1, 2021 at 2:00 a.m.
Local Schools Deal With TikTok Challenges
By David [email protected]
“Devious Licks” – also known as diabolical licks, dastardly licks or nefarious licks – has been going on at middle schools, high schools and colleges around the country for about a month, but students caught doing it could face criminal charges.
Whitko Community Schools released a letter to students’ families Thursday about the “Devious Licks” challenge on TikTok because of problems the high school has experienced with it.
The challenge shows students committing acts of theft and vandalism in school bathrooms. These acts encourage students to steal toilet seats and soap dispensers, write on the walls and do other intentional damage, the letter states. According to a CNN online story Sept. 18, “TikTok has been quick to shut down the trend, with the company removing many of the videos from its platform.”
Unfortunately, the letter states, Whitko school facilities have been impacted by the challenges. Whitko has taken steps to curb the incidents, but is asking for help to prevent them.
Wawasee High School Principal Geoff Walmer sent out a message to WHS parents and guardians on Monday regarding these acts. In an email Thursday, he confirmed Wawasee has “unfortunately had multiple incidents that we’ve had to address. In talking with principals not only from Indiana, but others I know in various states, these acts have been happening all over the country.”
Walmer said after taking some action last week and sending out the notification Monday, Wawasee has seen a decline in these behaviors.
“I’m hopeful the partnership we have with parents and guardians, along with the vast majority of students who do the right thing and are ready to report when they see someone behaving this way, will help and has helped to curb this behavior,” Walmer stated in his email.
Other school districts, like Warsaw Community Schools, have had similar incidents with the challenge.
WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said they covered this issue over two weeks ago. Warsaw Community High School Principal Troy Akers and Warsaw Area Career Center Director Ronna Kawsky made a video reminding students to have pride in their school. They reminded students that not only is it stealing and vandalism, but it’s also hurtful to school pride and can be a criminal offense.
There were only a handful of incidents, Hoffert said, as the majority of the kids do the right thing every day. He said sometimes people don’t fully think about what they’re doing with the social media challenges and that’s sad.
“It’s just a small minority of students,” he said, “... but that’s not cool.”
According to a statement from Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, “TVSC administrators were made aware of the challenges but have only experienced minor issues arising with our students from this challenge.”
Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton said possible charges for damaging school bathrooms include institutional criminal mischief, which starts as a Class A misdemeanor and, depending on the amount of pecuniary loss, can elevate to a Level 6 felony or Level 5 felony. If the property is taken, then it’s theft, with the same level of crimes as institutional criminal mischief.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Chris Francis juvenile cases would go through the probation department. The student would likely also have to pay restitution to the school for the damage done.
“We understand the next challenge is to ‘Slap A Teacher,’ either on the back or behind. The first slap is assault, the second is sexual assault,” the Whitko letter also states. “Please talk with your children about these actions, about how they have a negative impact on other children, how they damage the school and will not be endured by staff members. Please advise them these actions will not be tolerated in any form or at any grade level. Any intentional damage, vandalism or theft of school property or physical assault of an employee is a violation of school policy and subject to consequences from the school administrators. Criminal charges also will be levied against them.”
Any student who has information about or is a witness to school property damage is encouraged to report it to a teacher or principal or to use the anonymous reporting form in the Whitko Bookmarks tab.
The letter is signed by Whitko Junior-Senior High School Principal Amy Evans and Vice Principal Jon Baker.
“Devious Licks” – also known as diabolical licks, dastardly licks or nefarious licks – has been going on at middle schools, high schools and colleges around the country for about a month, but students caught doing it could face criminal charges.
Whitko Community Schools released a letter to students’ families Thursday about the “Devious Licks” challenge on TikTok because of problems the high school has experienced with it.
The challenge shows students committing acts of theft and vandalism in school bathrooms. These acts encourage students to steal toilet seats and soap dispensers, write on the walls and do other intentional damage, the letter states. According to a CNN online story Sept. 18, “TikTok has been quick to shut down the trend, with the company removing many of the videos from its platform.”
Unfortunately, the letter states, Whitko school facilities have been impacted by the challenges. Whitko has taken steps to curb the incidents, but is asking for help to prevent them.
Wawasee High School Principal Geoff Walmer sent out a message to WHS parents and guardians on Monday regarding these acts. In an email Thursday, he confirmed Wawasee has “unfortunately had multiple incidents that we’ve had to address. In talking with principals not only from Indiana, but others I know in various states, these acts have been happening all over the country.”
Walmer said after taking some action last week and sending out the notification Monday, Wawasee has seen a decline in these behaviors.
“I’m hopeful the partnership we have with parents and guardians, along with the vast majority of students who do the right thing and are ready to report when they see someone behaving this way, will help and has helped to curb this behavior,” Walmer stated in his email.
Other school districts, like Warsaw Community Schools, have had similar incidents with the challenge.
WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said they covered this issue over two weeks ago. Warsaw Community High School Principal Troy Akers and Warsaw Area Career Center Director Ronna Kawsky made a video reminding students to have pride in their school. They reminded students that not only is it stealing and vandalism, but it’s also hurtful to school pride and can be a criminal offense.
There were only a handful of incidents, Hoffert said, as the majority of the kids do the right thing every day. He said sometimes people don’t fully think about what they’re doing with the social media challenges and that’s sad.
“It’s just a small minority of students,” he said, “... but that’s not cool.”
According to a statement from Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, “TVSC administrators were made aware of the challenges but have only experienced minor issues arising with our students from this challenge.”
Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton said possible charges for damaging school bathrooms include institutional criminal mischief, which starts as a Class A misdemeanor and, depending on the amount of pecuniary loss, can elevate to a Level 6 felony or Level 5 felony. If the property is taken, then it’s theft, with the same level of crimes as institutional criminal mischief.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Chris Francis juvenile cases would go through the probation department. The student would likely also have to pay restitution to the school for the damage done.
“We understand the next challenge is to ‘Slap A Teacher,’ either on the back or behind. The first slap is assault, the second is sexual assault,” the Whitko letter also states. “Please talk with your children about these actions, about how they have a negative impact on other children, how they damage the school and will not be endured by staff members. Please advise them these actions will not be tolerated in any form or at any grade level. Any intentional damage, vandalism or theft of school property or physical assault of an employee is a violation of school policy and subject to consequences from the school administrators. Criminal charges also will be levied against them.”
Any student who has information about or is a witness to school property damage is encouraged to report it to a teacher or principal or to use the anonymous reporting form in the Whitko Bookmarks tab.
The letter is signed by Whitko Junior-Senior High School Principal Amy Evans and Vice Principal Jon Baker.
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