The latest challenge for the month of October encourages students to assault school staff members, which raises concerns to the safety of personnel as well as teachers.
“There's going to be zero tolerance for this type of behavior,” SUHSD Spokeswoman Nedege Johnson said. “This type of behavior is inappropriate and it will not be tolerated. There will be disciplinary actions if students decide to participate in this challenge.”
It all began with the “Devious Lick” challenge according to Tik Tok and Twitter, dominating the month of September which saw people stealing items like soap dispensers and toilet rolls from school bathrooms.
“Over the last few weeks, we have witnessed some alarming challenges issued to students on Tik Tok. These challenges are illegal and have caused disruption to our learning environments and campus climate” said the SUHSD Department of Teaching and Learning in a statement released to parents.
Many people including staff, parents and teachers turn to twitter to slam the challenge. The district warns parents participation in these challenges will not be tolerated and is focused on providing a safe learning environment for students as well as a safe working environment for staff members. Parents are encouraged to monitor their children’s social media platforms and to have discussions surrounding the reality of these challenges.
“It is essential that we work together to maintain safety on our campuses and minimize the impact of these misguided social media challenges that negatively impact our schools. As a restorative district, we believe in repairing the harm and addressing the problems immediately when an issue arises; however, this does not eliminate the disciplinary actions that may result from the execution of these challenges” the statement read.
Parents are urged to “reemphasize that their safety and education are our primary goals”. The District urges parents to “ensure that your children understand the severity of repercussions that may result if any of these challenges are initiated on a school campus.”
According to Johnson, there are no reports of students participating in this challenge so far. Disciplinary actions administered to students will depend on each school site factoring in what was done and how it was done.
“We are all held to a high standard here at Sweetwater. The focus right now is to stay safe. We are in a pandemic. Focus on school and extracurricular activities, not on participating in this challenge because there will be disciplinary actions if students still choose to do so” Johnson said.
According to a list that’s circling TikTok and Twitter right now, these are the planned challenges for the months to come:
In the month of October: Smack a staff member
In the month of November: Kiss your friend’s girlfriend at school
“It is imperative to leave these unproductive and potentially dangerous challenges off our campuses and let's return to school committed to enjoying the academic and extracurricular opportunities that we offer to all our students” the statement read.
