A Devious Start to the School Year
Photo by Shannon O’Dwyer
Shannon O’Dwyer
It is no secret that today’s society is run by the internet. We rely on it for our news, information, trends, and lifestyle. It is also evident that much of what we peruse online comes from social media. Just about everyone and their mother has TikTok these days. TikTok is responsible for much of today's trends in fashion, music, movements, and social crazes.
One of the most recent trends to shake the internet is entitled “Devious Lick”: a trend that involves students videoing themselves stealing, vandalizing, and damaging school property. Items that have been stolen in schools across the nation include:
Soap dispensers
Toilet paper
Exit signs
Remotes
Computers
Toilets
Smartboards
A bathroom mirror defaced and soap dispenser stolen
Photo from The New York Times
In some cases, the destruction is so extreme that entire bathrooms have been destroyed. This trend started via user jugg4elias, who captioned the post of them stealing a box of masks: “"A month into school... absolutely devious lick." The video gained over 300,000 views before TikTok removed it. Since then, TikTok has removed the hashtag “#deviouslicks” from its platform and has taken down jugg4elias’s page and redirected all of the videos with the hashtag to their Community Guidelines.
In response to the challenge, many schools have had to close their bathrooms entirely due to the vandalism. According to The Columbus Dispatch, “Westerville City Schools restricted bathroom access in at least two of its middle schools this week after reports of vandalism in the district, said district spokesman Greg Viebranz. ‘Students can still use the bathroom, but those that are available to them are also being closely monitored for who is accessing them,’ he said.” The limited use of the bathrooms is especially detrimental during Covid times as students are unable to wash their hands as frequently, potentially increasing the spread of the illness.
However, despite TikTok’s efforts to shut down the trend, it still spiraled into a larger event as it spread through the nation. Our own Hamilton High School has seen several instances of theft and vandalization of school property. Items that have been stolen from school restrooms and classrooms include: soap dispensers, classroom numbers, toilet paper, a bathroom door, and various other items.
Hamilton High School Principal Mrs. Newcomer released this statement in response to the trend:
Dear Hamilton High School Families,
A nationwide harmful TikTok challenge is affecting Hamilton High School, and we are asking families to help us shut it down quickly.
The “TikTok Lick Challenge” is encouraging students to vandalize schools and school property. Hamilton is experiencing this trend with the theft of items such as soap and toilet paper, including the dispensers, from school bathrooms. In addition to the bathroom items, we have experienced the theft of Smartboard remotes.
While the TikTok challenge may seem like an innocent prank to students, it has serious consequences. Not only are the stolen items expensive, but they are difficult to replace during the pandemic. We may soon need to shut down restrooms because they will become unsanitary without soap and toilet paper.
We are investigating the situation, including the use of camera surveillance outside of restrooms to determine those responsible. Students who have stolen items will receive a ticket from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department that will cost upwards of $300. In addition, school and athletic suspensions will result.
If stolen items are returned by the end of the week, the school will not press charges. If you are aware of any students who may have participated in the TikTok challenge, please urge them to return all items to an administrator by 2:25 p.m. on September 17, 2021. Beyond then, we will work with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department to enforce laws that will result in criminal charges, fines and school penalties.
Please talk to your children and help us send a message to students about respecting our school. If students you know have stolen school items, encourage them to acknowledge their mistake and return the items before heavier consequences occur.
This may be a national trend, but I believe Hamilton is better than this.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Newcomer
In order to learn more about the administrative response to this destructive trend, an interview was conducted with Mrs. Newcomer:
What would you say to the students who have stolen school property?
I would say that most people make at least one bad decision in his/her life and unfortunately social media influences our value system. It's unfortunate this has infiltrated our school and allowed people to give in to something that they know is wrong. I’d tell them to learn from their mistakes and don't do it again.
Can you clarify the administrative response to students who may be caught engaging in this behavior? What are the consequences?
If the items would have been returned in a 24 hour period of the notice going out, there would be a small discussion. Now that we are beyond that timeline, there will be charges pressed and school actions will be taken in accordance with our school guidelines.
Have materials previously stolen been returned to the front office? What things are still missing?
I haven't taken a great inventory of all of the smaller items, considering many smaller things may have been stolen from classrooms. A Smartboard remote was returned anonymously, and a few soap dispensers have been “found” in a locker. But no items have actually been returned directly to the front office.
Do you believe social media like Tik Tok is a good or bad influence on students?
I think it's horrible. In a staff meeting today, we were asked what age we would be forever if we were able to choose. I don't think a single teacher said they would want to be under 18 because that age deals with so much pressure already as young adults. You have coursework and social lives. Social media just adds to that pressure and makes it difficult to have a private life. It's hard to make your life look perfect all the time. Social media has been detrimental to the psychological development of our students. It has made it far easier to make mistakes that are publicly scrutinized.
Any final thoughts?
Frankly, I’m just glad that much of the activity stopped when it did [after we sent out the letter to families and students]. Hopefully we can put this behind us and move on to have a year that focuses on more positive things.
In general, it is almost hard to believe that a trend as destructive as ‘Devious Lick’ would gain any popularity, let alone the scope that it did. It is dangerous, and has major and potentially legal consequences that will remain on some students' permanent records. However, an upside to trends is that they rarely last more than a week or two, meaning that such behavior will blow over. So as this trend begins to die down in popularity, Hamilton School District, as with many other schools around the nation, will see the demise of the infamous ‘Devious Lick’ challenge.
Sources
What To Know About Devious Lick Tik Tok Challenge
Tik Tok Challenge Forces Schools to Close Bathrooms in Middle of Pandemic
Columbus Area Cleaning Up Monitoring Bathrooms After Tik Tok Challenge
Photo by Shannon O’Dwyer
