A dozen students from Sedona Red Rock High School and Middle School have been suspended following their participation in a social media “challenge.”
A total of 12 students were found to have taken part in what’s called the “Devious Licks TikTok Challenge,” a dare created by users of the TikTok social media app in which students and others are encouraged to vandalize and steal property from schools across the country.
According to Superintendent Dennis Dearden, eight students had been suspended for five days as of Friday, Sept. 17, and another four as of Monday, Sept. 20.
These included six eighth-graders , four freshmen, one sophomore and one junior.
The vandalism that occurred ranges from $25 to over $2,000 in damages. A total dollar amount won’t be known until the investigation is complete.
“Students across the country have been encouraged to vandalize or steal as much as you can,” Dearden said of the challenge. “The bigger, the better and more points you get and they film it so that people can see it. That’s how we caught several of them. I had no idea this was going on until we were alerted by [Yavapai] County [Schools] Superintendent Tim Carter.
“We were scratching our heads as to why we were suddenly seeing so much vandalism over the past two weeks. One kid actually came with a drill to try and take an entire toilet. Once I heard about it, it all made sense as to what was happening.”
Items stolen included a teacher’s laptop, faculty classroom phones, rest room soap and toilet paper dispensers, microphones from classrooms, a fire extinguisher as well as other items they are still assessing. The fire extinguisher was found at Big Park Community School, along with a pair of broken windows there.
Dearden said he announced over the school’s intercom that this has to stop and asked that students with any information on this rash of vandalism come and talk to administrators.
They had more than 50 students come forward.
“Many of them told me that they don’t want this happening to their school and that they felt sorry for the custodians,” he said. “We’ve caught the kids. The police department is involved in citing them and in some cases have gone to their homes with search warrants to see their phones.”
“We’re taking this very seriously,” Dearden said. “You can’t come in and do this. I have zero tolerance for kids who want to destroy our property and think it’s fun.”
In a letter sent to parents, Dearden wrote, “It is important that parents know that this is happening in our district. We will be suspending the students involved, the students will be responsible for paying restitution, and law enforcement’s involved.
“Initially this started as bathroom vandalism, but has spread to much larger damage and thefts. Hopefully, people see this for what it is, a crime against the community. These are community schools. The vast majority of our students are responsible, respectful and proud of their school. Unfortunately, a few of our students have decided to participate in this destructive behavior. Please help us by monitoring your students’ use of technology and social media.”
Hunter White, the school’s student representative to the Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board, said while he’s disappointed in some of his fellow students, their actions are not indicative of the overall student body.
“From a student perspective, I think it’s important to note that 50 people came in and said they didn’t like this happening to their school and felt this was wrong,” he said. “This is not a reflection of our entire district or our school. It’s a reflection of a few bad actors who were roped into a challenge without thinking.”
