A student walks down the hallway during their study hall period and goes into the bathroom, he makes sure no one is in the room before he looks at himself in the mirror and pulls his phone out to record himself. He then runs up to the wall and jumps kicks the soap dispenser off the wall, stuffing it in his backpack. Now he posts a video of himself on TikTok saying he just hit a devious lick.

One of the newer Tiktok “trends” is known as the “devious lick challenge,” which is a challenge where students from across the country steal or vandalize school property and post videos of them doing it on social media, and it has been spreading like wildfire in schools across the country.

Kenny Maier, security guard at the Freshman Campus has had to deal with some problems because of this challenge.

“It’s been mostly the soap dispensers,” Maier said. “That’s been the biggest one … But girls’ bathrooms have been vandalized with feminine products. Somebody ripped the paper towel dispenser off the wall in the boys locker room. My chair was also stolen, but it’s pretty much stopped. Yeah I’m glad students are growing up and maturing.”

Schools across the country have had to deal with this challenge, some schools had harsher vandalisms than other schools but the overall opinion from administrators has really not changed at the Freshman or the Upper Campus.

“Honestly, I think this challenge is childish,” Maier said, “because you guys are supposed to be learning how to be grownups, adults. These devious licks are criminal actions and I think it’s childish to want to commit crimes just to do something on TikTok.”

School administrators are also wanting students to focus on schoolwork and less on social media so the students can have as much academic success they can throughout high school. Kyle Hobson, associate principal at the Freshman Campus, thinks social media plays a big role in students’ academic successes.

“Social media can definitely be a distraction when it comes to time management and taking care of things (schoolwork) should be prioritized,” Hobson says. “If social media is prioritized too much this can definitely have an impact on academic success and progress. I think all students can be successful. It just depends on what students decide to put effort into,” said Hobson.

Many school administrators and students across the country are tired of this challenge since they have been eager to head back to the classroom. Some schools have had high price tags due to this challenge and administrators want it to stop.

In a Washington Post story, Kim Belware writes that, “Canyons school district in Utah says they are more fortunate than some other schools with some investment of taxpayers, it doesn’t have the money to spare from some of the damages from this challenge.”

Most administrators think students are doing this challenge on TikTok for attention just for the laughs, the clicks, and the likes that will come out of people watching their videos. Yet students don’t realize that some of the damage they are doing are considered crimes and students under 18 that are getting in trouble could have charges when they become an adult.

In her article, Belware tells of Melissa Laudini, a high school principal from Florida, who says the trend is all for the likes and what they feel is popularity online. “It’s not even like the old saying of ‘15 minutes of fame,’” she says. “It’s more like 30 seconds.”

The student then walks out of the bathroom with the soap dispenser in his backpack, and is immediately greeted around the corner by a security guard, the security guard leads the student down the hallway into an open door, ready for his punishment.