School bathrooms in PWCS are closing due to vandalism influenced by online trends.

The Devious Lick Challenge, a trend where people steal something on school grounds has been the culprit of sinks and soap dispensers broken off of walls and students making a mess, usually in bathrooms. Custodians are struggling to clean up the mess.

Students are tired of missing class time. Many at Woodbridge can’t access bathrooms near their classes due to vandalism, and in the mornings all bathrooms are closed except the lobby, and multiple are closed at lunch due to people congregating.

Woodbridge is not the only school closing almost all of their bathrooms. Osborne Park and Hylton High School have also had issues with the Devious Lick. 

 “One bathroom is open and it is packed. Kids get in trouble for being out of class longer,” a student from Hylton High School remarked. 

This is reflected at Woodbridge. Ten or more people are packed in the bathrooms every morning.

This TikTok trend has its consequences, but is the right punishment closing all the bathrooms? 

“Bathrooms are being closed because of the vandalism, and of course having bathrooms is a right, but how many you have is a privilege,” an administrator from Woodbridge stated.

While preventing vandalism is necessary, punishing the student body because of individuals is not justified. 

A potential solution that schools have begun to implement is the e-hallpass. An e-hall pass is an online pass that tracks where students are going and how long they have left class. Students are wary of the new passes, but they significantly improve the chances of opening the bathrooms. If something is damaged, the e-hallpasses will show where students are for how long.

Students need to support our school and keep it clean. Custodians need to be treated fairly. Hopefully the bathrooms will open again soon, students can’t deal with packed and closed bathrooms and we cannot stall on opening them again.