From 'silly' to 'perversion,' readers weigh in on Deer Creek students' licking-toes fundraiser
Deer Creek High School faced a backlash after a video showed students licking peanut butter off their classmates’ toes. The activities portrayed in the video were part of the school’s annual fundraising event, which raised more than $150,000 for Not Your Average Joe.
We asked readers their thoughts on the criticism Deer Creek students and Not Your Average Joe staff have been receiving from the community. We also were curious what crazy activities others have participated in to raise funds for charity.
More: Coffee shop's disabled employees harassed over viral feet-licking video, director says
Here are some of your responses:
● The backlash by conservative Republicans over the fundraiser at Deer Creek high school is just the latest overreaction to innocent fun and outrageous ideas to raise money by high schoolers. My kids did similarly crazy stunts when they were in high school back in the 90s and no one blinked. The interference and legislation of morality on our entire state is exhausting, embarrassing, and ridiculous. Just when you think things can’t get worse they do.
It is absolutely shameful to take out any disapproval on the employees at Not Your Average Joe who can’t understand people’s anger and why it should be directed at them. We are a Christian state? Saying it is one thing. Demonstrating it is quite another!
— Nancy Krause
● What happen to the good old days of having a carnival or car wash, even a talent show, or teachers vs basketball team, so many choices, the choice someone made, got our state coverage all over the news, Not in a good way, Though it raised money, someone should have thought what the social media made Us look like! Little more thought next time maybe! Still Proud to be a Oklahoman !
— Bob Ryan
● Licking toes is a gross activity and teenagers have been attracted to gross stuff forever! Nothing too new here. However, getting a bunch of 15 and 16 year old youngsters to raise nearly a quarter of a million dollars to help our disabled community is not so common.
“Child abuse,” no way. The flippant use of that term demeans the terrible conditions that way too many children must endure-violence, homelessness, abandonment, starvation and more. The coward senator from Texas should know better.
The Edmond Public Schools have produced some of Oklahoma’s best and brightest graduates for years. The success achieved through their extracurricular and cocurricular activities are unmatched in Oklahoma! I have complete confidence the Edmond school district leaders will re-examine the role of staff advisors to the student groups and tighten up some of the approval methods. Edmond teens will not be short on ideas that poke at their friends.
Oklahoma needs our public high schools to be dynamic, challenging, engaging and motivating places of growth and development and I believe Oklahoma is damn lucky to have schools that are high performing like the Deer Creek- Edmond Public Schools!
— Jeff Lynn Hale
● I think the backlash is oversensitive people expressing their disappointment in their high school experience. Well I think the first part of that sentence is true. ... This was high school boys (apparently) tasked with coming up with the most gross, yes safe, idea they could come up with the help with the fundraising. Maybe not the best choice; but nothing to castigate them over. The craziest activity I participated in to raise funds for charity was to give more than I thought I could afford.
— Harold Pumford, Prague
● From top down, heads should roll!!! Perversion! Wait for the lawsuits!
— Gregory Penny, Edmond
● I believe people should stay out of it. This was no different than any other silly idea to help raise money for an excellent cause. The kids should be commended and it's the thought that counts. There is nothing dirty or wrong with what the conjured up for silly fun.
— Teresa Pope, Norman
● While disgusting, it was not illegal, and no student was bullied into participating. It is pretty great that these kids raised so much money for a good cause.
— Linda Bobo, Fort Worth, Texas
● Who in the world came up with such a stupid and disgusting idea? Does the administrator that signed-off on this perverted activity still have a job? They certainly did nothing to enhance our States reputation. We have been a Laughing stock on National TV for the last 3 or 4 days.
— Ben Gadd, Oklahoma City
● Licking toes is absurd- who's idea was this? Surely there were no adults involved in this decision.
— Mike Rowlett, Oklahoma City
● I think these people need to get over themselves. Quit looking for trouble. Making something out of nothing for a little attention. If it offends Ryan Walters then I am sure it was fine. I have done nothing crazier than ride a bike for 150 miles for charity. I think I will try this toe licking, sounds like it would be a lot easier and more fun, especially if it offends Ryan Walters and his followers.
— Cindy Westbrook, Oklahoma City
● I am truly glad that I have read this piece of news. Come on people, I'm sure the kids washed their feet thoroughly for this fundraiser. After all, they were all participants and knew they would want clean toes to lick as well as being hygienic themselves. Gosh, it was for a good cause, and I have no problem with this. Call me crazy if you like, but I think they were very wise to cut out the car washes and various other ways of raising money that have floundered throughout the years. For sure, they should have planned it with the staff but I think they instinctively knew the staff would have stifled their ideas. So look at the results. And I am sure no one contracted hoof and mouth disease. Bless these kids!!
— Nola Norton, Grand Rapids, Michigan
● Those kids could be doing so much worse stuff than raising money for a good cause by doing some silly stuff! Congratulate them for their efforts. If you can't do that, leave them alone!
— Diana McMurtry, Oklahoma City
● My family, which includes 2 grown children, have never done any type of crazy fund raising activities. Since I have been a RN for over 30 years, my thoughts about this type of fund raising might not be the same as teens. However, I know this type of activity is very disgusting and an excellent way to spread germs. Some people are highly allergic to peanuts and was the school prepared to manage a student having a severe anaphylaxis? This was a very dangerous activity. Since I have been a high school teacher before, I do not know how the staff would not have know about these activities. I think any staff, who knew about these activities, should be fired. Also, if parents knew, they should be guilty of child abuse. I think Not Your Average Joe is innocent and should be allowed to keep the money. We prayed for everybody involved in this activity. Huge Thank You to Ryan Walters and all that were involved in spreading the news about this terrible activity.
— Paula Rhodes, Oklahoma City
● I praise the Deer Creek student body and faculty for fundraising efforts. Perhaps when we view this through the lens of “is this practice still consistent with a dignified event,” we come to a realization that we could have done better. The Deer Creek administration has affirmed intention to disband this practice. HOWEVER, the larger issue is how this took the stage front and center for Senator Cruz, Secretary Walters, and Chaya Raichik. Instead of taking understanding & remediating actions worthy of leaders, these individuals chose to call the action ‘filth’ and ‘child abuse.’ These incendiary remarks led to backlash against the VERY EMPLOYEES the fundraiser was intended to benefit—those at Not Your Average Joe’s coffee. This incident shows yet again that Secretary Walters prioritizes his political ambitions above his duty to Oklahoma children, lacks the humility to be a leader in this office, and does not engage with intellectual rigor required in the education space.
— Jonathan Mason, Edmond
● Kids are gonna be kids. This is silly fun for a good cause. As long as proper hygiene is followed - no harm done. It boggles the mind that there is a faction out there wants to turn everything fun into a political or religious statement or both. This faction seems to have minds so firmly entrenched in porn that they are no longer able to differentiate between harmless fun and their own obsessive thoughts about porn. The logical assumption is this faction is needs to look at the log in their own eye (per the bible they claim to follow) and stop worrying about innocent projects such as this that are benefiting the community. Let kids be kids and have fun for a good cause.
— Shauna Struby, Oklahoma City
● The back lash is absolutely ridiculous. And the more negative coverage this gets, the more these kids and this INCREDIBLE business are vilified. This is nothing new- and collectively metro schools have raised MILLIONS of dollars for incredible causes over the last decade and a half or so that these philanthropic weeks have occurred. All student led and planned, that is what should be blasted across screens and talked about. I was in high school in 2012-2015. We did the peanut butter on the feet, peanut butter in the armpit. Worst was probably that we put peanut butter on two sides of SaranWrap and made two people stand on either side and lick it- creating the illusion of them kissing. I also drank more blended up happy meals than I can count. All in the name of fun, philanthropy, and growing as citizens of a community outside of ourselves.
Now, as someone who works with the disability community here in OKC, I am so saddened to see the effect this has had on Not Your Average Joe. They are an amazing organization, working hard to enhance the lives of our citizens who are neurodivergent. They have created a fun, inclusive, accessible work environment- a need we greatly had and the more they grow and expand the more opportunities they provide. You may not agree with the activity, you may not understand the reason, you may not have wanted to do it yourself- but can we please stop making the student leaders and young citizens of our world who will one day be our leaders- feel like they did anything wrong? Can we please stop taking away from the incredible job they did raising a life-changing amount of money for an organization making a difference in our community? It’s time to move on- it’s time to come together and celebrate- and it’s time to stop letting “cancel culture” take over our thoughts and actions- tormenting a business who did nothing but fill out an application, get selected, and accept a check to continue the work they are doing daily to make OKC/Edmond a better place to live for all!
— Madison Cude, Oklahoma City
● People do things like this all the time, it’s for a good cause and nobody was forced to participate. Everybody involved in the actions agreed to participate and nobody was forced against their own will. This was student led and student created, which means that every student that participated or was involved in any way, shape, or form was doing it to raise money in support of a philanthropic organization.
— Taylor Snyder, Oklahoma City
● First and foremost, the intention of these kids in raising money for this cause is absolutely commendable. Whether it is running a 5K for dollars (potential health risk), a pancake fundraiser (food allergies), a dunk tank (ridiculing/mental health/hypothermia) there are always those that caution and complain. Is licking peanut butter off someone's toes the best idea in today's hypersensitive and divided word? No... But to have such outrage is... well... outrageous. I have paid a buddy $10 to eat a live goldfish on a dare... dumped freezing water on my head for ALS and even eaten a piece of chocolate that I dropped on the floor when I was a kid (I think the statute of limitations for you to charge my parents with "child abuse" Ted Cruz and Ryan Walters). Get over yourselves. Go be a difference maker like these kids were. The most terrible thing? For the hypocrites that rarely do anything for the good of others (I'm talking to you, all the cowardly internet trolls) to bully and berate kids and people with disabilities.
— Rich Barnard, Oklahoma City
● The fundraiser was extremely bizarre and just unsettling to watch. The school should have never approved something like this, but luckily Ryan Walters and Ted Cruz (?) are here to make this into a year long battle over woke teachers which will do nothing but further devalue teachers in this state. In 10 years we will run out of "woke" teachers to blame for our failing students but I suppose that neither Walters nor Cruz (again... why?) really care. As for Not Your Average Joe, everyone knows by this point that they didn't have any involvement in this. They actually are a great example of real Christian values in lifting those around them in the community that so many overlook. It takes the most basic of reading skills and media literacy to know that their hands were clean in this.
— CJ Johnson, Norman
● Whose responsibility is it to approve student organization activities that take place on school/taxpayer property? Why has that person not stepped up and explained why this was allowed? What are the district’s rules about student group fundraisers and activities? I think that until someone from the district speaks to those issues, the backlash is completely understandable and warranted. This isn’t a “crazy activity” to most parents, it’s degrading, dehumanizing, and at best wildly inappropriate.
— Kay McKinney, Norman
● It was probably in poor taste, but not such a big deal as it being made. It was kids doing silly stuff to raise money. I once allowed myself to be taped to wall. I have friends who have kissed a pig, snake, insert other animals-all could be argued as "demeaning" or "embarrassing" to the person(s).
— Allyson Helm, Guthrie
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Deer Creeks schools' toe-licking fundraiser backlash sparked opinions
