Students engaging in pranks at school is nothing new.
But a new trend is apparently encouraging criminal activity. In a letter emailed to parents on Oct. 1, District 186 Supt. Jennifer Gill asked families to urge students not to participate in “challenges” circulating on TikTok
that encourage physically hitting teachers and stealing school property.
TikTok is a wildly popular social media
platform that allows users to create and share short videos. Recently, schools
from all over the country have asked for students to stop recording
themselves acting out and posting the evidence to TikTok. The
challenges have included “devious licks” – where students
steal various school items such as hand sanitizer and soap
dispensers. An October challenge reportedly encourages students to
slap teachers.
TikTok has condemned the alleged
actions of its users. A TikTok spokesperson told CBS 46 in Atlanta, Georgia in response to reporting about the challenges: “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.”
In the letter from Gill to parents, she
said, “We understand that technology and social media are ever
changing and can be difficult to monitor and regulate. We are asking
for your assistance in discussing the seriousness of these actions
and their potential consequences, the importance of making good
choices at school, and using technology responsibly.”
Gill said students who participate in
the challenges, including those who record the acts, could face
discipline, including the potential involvement of law enforcement.
“We are partnering with our States Attorney’s office to
proactively address these issues so that we can avoid any devastating
outcomes,” she wrote.
Read the full letter, here.
Contact Rachel Otwell at rotwell@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Mass disagreement.
