School fundraisers used to involve kids washing cars at the filling station or selling candy bars door-to-door.
But in one of the most bizarre events in the annals of school fundraising, the powers that be at Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Oklahoma, adopted a new and improved money-making endeavor.
It importuned students to lick peanut butter off the toes of other students to raise money.
When video of the nutty scene went viral on social media, outrage ensued, and the state school superintendent vowed to punish whoever sanctioned the idea.
GOP U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas chimed in with a repost of the video.
But at least some of the rage was misplaced. The Deer Creek School District said the event was students-only.
The Video
The video is almost too disturbing to watch. As the kids consume peanut butter off the toes, a crowd cheers them on.
“He is devouring them,” a man says.
KOKH Fox 25’s Wendy Saures posted the video to X with this comment:
GRAPHIC WARNING- Video sent to FOX 25 shows students at Deer Creek High kissing and sucking on feet yesterday. @DCAntlers confirms the video, saying the students volunteered in challenges to help raise money for their annual philanthropy week.
Libs of TikTok (LOTT) reposted Saures’ post. “UNBELIEVABLE,” the repost says. “This happened at @DCAntlers. Students sucked on the toes of adults during a school fundraising event. Who approved this???”
At this writing, LOTT’s item has pulled more than 30 million views.
The leguminous stunt raised money for Not Your Average Joe (NYAJ) coffee shop, which employs the mentally and physically disabled, Fox 25 reported.
One student told the station she “was kind of disgusted, and then kind of glad I wasn’t over there.”
Said one parent: “Whenever she told me yesterday that was happening, I had to ask her, ‘Wait, what? They’re licking peanut butter off of toes. What?’”
Students from grades nine through 12 participated in what Deer Creek High School called “Clash of Classes.” Students paid to participate.
Fox 25 reported that the school district explained the event in a news release, noting that the high school raised $152,830.38 for the coffee business:
On Thursday, February 29, 2024, Deer Creek High School hosted an assembly called the Clash of Classes for students who paid to attend. During this assembly, ninth through twelfth grade students volunteered to participate in various student-organized class competitions, in the spirit of raising money for NYAJ. All participants in the assembly were students who signed up for the game(s) they played ahead of time. No Deer Creek faculty or staff participated in any of the games during this Clash of Classes assembly. Many dedicated students gave generously of their personal time to achieve this momentous accomplishment, which will serve communities beyond the boundaries of Deer Creek. We would like to thank all of the patrons, businesses and sponsors who contributed to the success of this year’s Wonderful Week of Fundraising.
One parent, Fox 25 reported, rightly said that “they could’ve done a little bit more accountability and ownership in that statement for, ‘Hey, you know, maybe we didn’t fully think this thing through here.’”
Reaction
Fury on X followed, much of it based upon the belief that students licked the toes of adults. Reactions ranged from calling the stunt pedophilia, grooming, and a sex crime, to calling for the firing and arrest of the adults who supposedly participated.
Reaction from the state schools chief was swift.
“This is disgusting,” Ryan Walters wrote over LOTT’s repost on X. “We are cleaning up this filth in Oklahoma schools. Our agency is investigating.”
Cruz called it “child abuse,” a sentiment with which Walters agreed.
“Schools banned bobbing-for-apples because that was unsanitary, so why now bob-for-bunions?” the Frank DeScushin X feed asked.
“Oh Dear God,” wrote Jaunita Broaddrick. “That is horrible and disgusting. Those poor kids.”
But even if adults and teachers weren’t involved, one still wonders who approved the idea given what was sure to happen in the age of social media, not to mention the obvious conclusion that most viewers would draw.
One reaction: “Whatever happened to bake sales and car washes?”
Good question.
