Nobody would have ever thought that the poop-in-the-wall situation from 2019 would be topped.

But EHS boys have raised the walls of the stalls. 

Starting one week ago, students, who are primarily in the ninth and 10th grade, conducted a spree of vandalism throughout multiple bathrooms. The damage included one broken urinal, several stolen soap dispensers and a detached bathroom stall. 

This is a result of the viral “Devious Lick” TikTok challenge, which encourages students across the country to vandalize and steal different items in their school. Because this trend has caused problems at many schools across the country, TikTok has since banned any form of “Devious Lick” TikToks from being posted on its platform.

At first, students around the country filmed themselves stealing things like paper towel holders, but it progressed from minor theft to vandalizing. 

“It was funny to watch other kids in the beginning because it was all harmless things that were likely being returned after the video, but after seeing kids at our school straight up vandalizing the bathrooms and showing no respect towards our custodial staff and school, it made me very angry,” 11th grader Maranda Fosse said. “People think it is just a funny joke when in reality they aren’t considering the people that have to clean up and pay for the damages.”

Custodian Brian Fillingim says that having to deal with the bathrooms throws the entire custodial staff off of their routine. 

“During the day, we have to deal with lunch trash and stuff, and the vandilizations are causing us to have to leave what we are doing to do something else,” Fillingim said. “This puts everything behind, and then certain things are not done for our night crew, causing them to have to clean up extra.”

The vandalism caused one restroom on the first floor and one restroom on the second floor to be temporarily closed, but both have since reopened. 

Dr. Stuart says the situation is now under control, but he has a stark warning for any students planning to contribute to the trend. 

“It might take us a little bit, but we always end up finding out who the students are who participate in this type of behavior,” Dr. Stuart said. “If we find out, students participating will face school consequences and possibly legal consequences. Technically it is considered criminal damage to state-supported property, which is a felony… we don’t want to see anybody get arrested. We just want people to respect the building.”