COVER STORY

SCHOOLS RESPOND TO 'DEVIOUS LICKS' TIK TOK TREND

The ‘devious licks’ challenge encourages students to video themselves stealing or vandalizing school property.

BY ELLA KUNAR AND ALYSHA WALLACE

Soap dispensers ripped from walls, toilets clogged intentionally, bathroom tiles smashed and many other forms of vandalism have occurred across the nation thanks to the ‘devious licks’ challenge prompted by Tik Tok.

These new Tik Tok trends have shed light on bigger issues within schools. Due to many students not being in school for a year and a half, schools are having trouble with the overall behavior of students.

Licking Heights High School has had several instances where students have engaged in the ‘devious licks’ challenge. In one situation, a sink was ripped from the walls.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Watkins Memorial High School is another school that has fallen victim to the Tik Tok trend. Students pulled soap dispensers off the walls and put them in the toilets, filled toilets and sinks with paper towels and twisted faucets until they broke. The bathrooms have also been sprayed with chocolate milk and urinals in the boys’ restrooms have been filled with fake blood.

Because this trend has negatively affected schools, Tik Tok has taken down the challenge. If a user now tries to look up the challenge, they are redirected to other hashtags and challenges; however, the damage has already been done.

According to 10 WBNS, Watkins Memorial High School administrators are working to curb the trend by increasing staff sweeps of restrooms, addressing vandalism on announcements and encouraging good behavior, limiting restroom use to one student at a time from a classroom and other adaptations that the students have had to follow.

Granville High School has suffered with this trend as well. Several situations have arisen with students stuffing the toilets with rolls of toilet paper along with boys urinating on the floors of the restrooms. Adminstrators have implemented a sign out sheet in order to limit and monitor students using the bathrooms.

Though limited bathroom use will eliminate the problem in theory, Principal Matthew Durst does not want to have to take the privilege of using the bathroom away. He says he has faith in the student body and wants the school environment to be somewhat enjoyable; however, he said he has no issue prohibiting bathroom use for students doing these actions.

“I am very comfortable looking at those kids and saying, 'Guess who won't be going to the bathroom this year,'” Durst said.

Granville Superintendent Jeff Brown tried to curb Tik Tok vandalism by reaching out to parents. “I am sharing this with all families for awareness and conversations at home because we have seen the impact of TikTok Challenges here in Granville Schools,” he stated in an email.

While bad behavior is not unusual at the high school level, bad behavior this early in the year is not typical.

“It’s still October, we never see this behavior in October,” Durst said. “Seeing undesirable behaviors aren’t typically seen until March or May, so to struggle within October is a new phenomenon for us.”

According to Chalkbeat, schools across the country say they are seeing an increase in behavioral problems. Some are obvious like trashing bathrooms or fighting over social media. Others are quieter calls for help, like students putting their heads down in class or refusing to participate in discussions.

Due to Covid-19, many school staff members feel like there is a need to reteach students how to act. Students haven’t had a proper learning environment since March 2021.

“I feel like we are retraining students how to exist in a school environment,” Johnstown Monroe High School Principal Derick Busenburg said.

Durst blames most of this behavior on the pandemic. Students are tired of following all of the guidelines set in place and they just want normalcy back. “Maybe it’s just as a student, they are so tired of pandemic life that they are just going to get unhinged a little bit,” he said.

Another problem with the issues in the bathroom and overall behavior this year is that students are not cooperating or responding to discipline, according to Durst.

“Our students are good human beings, and they typically respond really well to conversational discipline. The students right now are not responding like they typically would respond,” Durst said.

Durst claims that the only way this behavior will stop is by students stepping up and stopping it. He needs students to inform him when an issue happens.

“I’m inclined to meet with some student leadership people,” Durst said.

"The students right now are not responding like they typically would respond."