The new TikTok trend titled “Devious Licks” is terrorizing schools all over the nation, including our very own. Thousands of students across the United States are uploading videos of themselves unzipping their backpacks with stolen school property inside. Items such as sinks, soap dispensers, and even bathroom doors are being snatched from schools. These videos are often captioned with some sort of phrase that ends with the term “devious lick.”

According to CelebSaga.com, the troubling trend first began when TikTok user @dtx.2cent posted a video where he had stolen a hand sanitizer bottle and captioned it “only a month into school and got this absolute devious lick.” The video went viral, and soon took schools by storm when it escalated from stealing hand sanitizer bottles and masks to expensive items like computers and sinks. There have also been multiple accounts of vandalism due to the trend. 

“This year there has been a fire extinguisher, a router, toilet paper dispenser, bathroom mirror, and a CPR practice dummy stolen,” senior Justin Francis said. 

 Items like these being stolen are costing the school a lot of money and causing disturbances throughout the school day. However, the culprits are not just getting away with these activities. There is a course of action being taken. 

“A student stole a WIFI router and got suspended for two weeks,” senior Eric Randhawa said. 

In addition to students being suspended, most of the bathrooms have been locked to prevent students from stealing and vandalization. Even though punishments have been set into action, students are still participating in the trend to become famous. 

“I feel kids are doing things that they don’t feel like there are potential consequences to. They are trying to get likes instead of being liked by the community,” teacher Mr. Pytel said. 

Having 15 minutes of fame is very important to teens these days. However, committing acts of violence and vandalism will not make them famous for the right reasons. If students want to continue on the right path in life, they will need to stop participating in this damaging trend.