The Devious Lick Challenge

TikTok is an application that the majority of students on campus have downloaded, and consistently participate in. This includes liking posts, commenting, and even recording their own posts in an attempt to gain fame. TikTok has a massive amount of influence upon the current high school generation. Many different types of trends have risen from TikTok, anything including doing a certain dance, using a certain sound in your video, or doing a certain action count as a TikTok trend. These trends usually only last for as

mall period of time. A certain student from an undisclosed high school posted a video of them pulling a school soap dispenser out of their backpack with the caption “just got the most devious lick.” This video blew up, gaining millions of likes and tens of millions of views. The people of TikTok loved this trend. 

Due to the famous TikTok trend ¨Devious Lick¨, students have begun to vandalize school bathrooms, taking public utilities and posting them online, hoping for some fame. However, the consequences of these actions are vast. Students

 no longer have access to school restrooms. Campus supervisors have taken matters into their own hands, closing the restrooms that have been vandalized until the trend blows over. These actions by campus supervisors have affected not only the students participating in the TikTok Trend, but also the innocent bystanders that just need to use the restroom. The ones at fault, of course, are the troublesome students who are pointlessly vandalizing our schools. 

At North specifically, the devious licks have not been limited to restrooms. Students believe that anything stolen is considered a “lick” and once they get home they post this “lick” as a token or trophy for not getting caught. This trend has brought about missing phones, printers, soap dispensers, mirrors and way more. Many teachers have had things stolen such as fire extinguishers, pencil sharpeners and clocks. 

The infamous devious lick trend is apparently part of a monthly challenge where Students who want fame participate in doing disreputable things on campus. Last month’s September challenge was to vandalize their school by stealing things from the school campus and posting it on social media with the caption “just got the most Devious Lick”.

“I don’t think it’s very smart because they are your own bathrooms that the students use so the students are essentially messing up their own bathrooms.” said Coach Mosely, one of our many campus supervisors and a coach to our basketball team.

On TikTok, this month’s October challenge is to ¨smack a staff member¨. The point is to physically harm a staff member for views and the chance of going viral. When brought up to a group of students many thought that this is an ignorant and childish act. Another group agreed that nobody would have the guts to actually harm a staff member knowing the possible consequences. No physical abuse has been reported at North thus far, however it is not inevitable.

“I don’t think that’s smart to do either, that’ll get you kicked out of school.” said Coach Mosely.

“We are high school students, we should know right from wrong. This new challenge is physical abuse to another person and that could cause serious problems across the school. They already took the bathrooms away. What’s next? ” says Dayanara Rodriguez, A freshman here at John W. North High School. 

A plethora of schools are displeased with this trend. The September challenge caused so much destruction to school bathrooms and classrooms that students no longer have the resources that our schools had provided them with. This reminds the student body how public utilities are not a right, and can be taken away at any time if they are taken advantage of. 

“When the arcade door is closed it usually means they’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing” said Coach Mosely.

Overall, The devious lick trend has been blown completely out of proportion, making everyone’s experience as high school students worse. Treating our school with love and respect is the least we can do for our high school, we only get one shot at this.