NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WBEN) - As if schools don't have enough to worry about this school year, now there's a viral TikTok challenge sweeping the country encouraging students to vandalize bathrooms.
Dubbed "Devious Licks," the TikTok trend has caused some damage to bathrooms in Western New York schools.
"We've seen a couple of examples of that here in Niagara Falls, in bathrooms in particular," said Mark Laurrie, Superintendent of Niagara Falls City Schools. "Soap dispensers appear to be the target. It makes no sense in the world to me," he said.
"This week has been good, but it has definitely occurred." Laurrie also acknowledging that it has occurred in other districts as well.
You would think it would be easy to track down students who are involved in the exploits once they post videos to TikTok. "Often times, with cameras at bathroom entrances, it's hard to pinpoint exactly who did it," said Laurrie.
"If we can get the TikTok, that makes it easy. But sometimes those things go away before we have the evidence."
TikTok announced last week that it would remove videos associated with the trend and redirect related hashtags after reports of schools
from California to Connecticut experiencing vandalism and theft.
"It's the most bizarre occurrence that I've ever seen. I don't understand the enjoyment of it. Defacing property makes no sense at all."
What can school districts do when this occurs? Laurie says they are monitoring bathrooms. Often the High School closes its bathrooms during passing time and opens them when students are in classes."Students have to request a pass to use a bathroom, and that disrupts class time, but it alleviates kids from going to the bathroom in large groups and stops the destruction. It's one measure in a big school where there are many bathrooms, that we have to consider," said Laurrie.
