The anonymous TikTok account “ou.pisser” made its debut Sept. 5, posting a video of themselves seemingly urinating on a flower bed next to the College Green sign. Captioned “first blood,” and set to audio from the TV show “Dexter,” the video quickly took off, earning more than 210,000 views, 25,000 likes and 340 comments.
Since, the account has gained 3,779 followers and posted five videos, the most recent posted Sept. 11.
Several imitators have popped up trying to replicate the original’s success, including “ohio.u.pisser” and “ohiopisser2.”
Evan Wilkof, OUPD community relations officer, said although the department rarely receives calls about public urination alone, the offense is still a minor misdemeanor.
“Seldom do we have public urination in and of itself,” Wilkof said. “It's typically coupled with some other violation because that's maybe a more obvious sign of impairment or misjudgment.”
If cited, offenders could face fines ranging from $140-$220.
A user going by “oupisshunter” has posted videos vowing to track down the mystery pisser. Their bio calls them a “crime fighter,” and their profile picture features Sergeant James Doakes, a character from “Dexter.”
The ou.pisser account declined to comment on potential criminal activities or any other relevant social media posts.
TikTok “pissers” have popped up at schools nationwide in recent weeks, though the origin of the trend is unclear. The trend has drawn comparisons to the September 2021 “devious licks” challenge, when students filmed themselves stealing or vandalizing school property.
Despite legal issues, some students said the trend is harmless fun.
Alexa Sanders, a sophomore transfer student studying psychology, said she is not worried about the urination around campus as long as no actual bodily fluids are being used for the videos. However, she said there is potential harm with the public urination trend.
“I do think as long as we keep federal offenses low, keep things harmless and light and playful and not actually committing biological warfare on people's mailboxes,“ Sanders said. “That's a different story because in the past, we have seen TikTok challenges, trends and facades that are relevant to people eating Tide Pods."
Sanders also said she sees the “ou.pisser" as a source of entertainment on campus that brings Generation Z Athens residents together.
“I think this is a fun way for campuses to unite, similar to the performative male contest,“ Sanders said. "Although what we get is a little bit more interesting, we're Gen Z, and that's kind of the epitome of our generation.”
Still, Wilkof urged Bobcats to make responsible decisions when it comes to urination.
“We, of course, want our Bobcats to be smart with their choices, and we also want them to consider maybe trying to hold it if there are buildings that are open a little bit later or to ask to go to a friend's house or something like that,” Wilkof said. “If we do see folks peeing outside, that will pique our interest, and we'll stop out, and at the very, very least, we'll have a discussion with them.”
