Lewd ‘scavenger hunt’ list stirs up LI school district

Leaked instructions for a “scavenger hunt” involving local students that Suffolk police were told happened Sunday are causing a stir in the Sachem district.

The two-page list — published on the Sachem Patch website on Monday — includes lewd and illegal activities that are each assigned point values.

For example, chugging a beer and speeding at 100 mph are both worth 10 points; running a red light is 30 points; and defecating on someone’s doorstep is 50 points, as is “receiving a [sexual act] on Sachem East ground.”

According to tweets posted by multiple Twitter users who identify themselves as Sachem East students and alumni, the scavenger hunt for Sachem East seniors took place Sunday night. The users said the list was leaked to Patch by an unidentified local parent.

Sachem schools superintendent James Nolan said in a statement: "Although the scavenger hunt was certainly not a school activity, we always want to be certain that our students are safe and that they demonstrate respectful, responsible behavior at all times. Both of our High School Principals spent time today speaking with their students on good decision making and the fact that they always represent themselves, their families, our community and the Sachem Family."

A Suffolk police spokeswoman said the department did receive two reports on Monday of criminal activity. A mailbox was stolen from a residence on Knickerbocker Avenue in Holbrook and a historic cemetery in Lake Ronkonkoma was vandalized — but police could not say whether the incidents were connected to the scavenger hunt.

“Steal a mailbox” and “dance on grave” were included on the scavenger hunt list published by Patch.

Ellyn Okvist, of Lake Ronkonkoma, said she reported the vandalism of the Lake Ronkonkoma Cemetery, the final resting place for four Civil War soldiers, after receiving calls from local residents. Okvist is president of the Lake Ronkonkoma Heritage Association.

When she arrived, Okvist said she saw that some of the American flags that had been placed near the soldiers’ graves this past August had been stolen. Five of them were thrown on the ground, she said, one gravestone from the 1840s was partially damaged, and there were candy wrappers strewn on the ground.

“It’s very horrifying when you see American flags thrown on the ground,” Okvist said. “It’s sacrilegious.”

Okvist said she’s putting her faith in the police to apprehend the person or people responsible, so they can take responsibility and pay for the damage.

“I don’t understand how anyone can do bad things to their own people,” she said. “Where did they learn their sense of right and wrong?”