Returning to in-person learning during a pandemic has been hard for many students, staff, and parents.Tiktok, a social media app that almost 92% of students in MCPS have, is where the “Devious Lick” trend started. Some believe this to be a coping mechanism for pandemic-related stresses.So what is the devious lick trend? The trend, in essence, involves stealing a random object from school, taking it home, and posting a dramatic video removing the object from a backpack. Many of these videos are going viral, creating more incentives for students to participate.While individual theft is not uncommon, it has never occurred at this scale and frequency. High school bathrooms have been the main target, with some schools being forced to close their bathrooms entirely due to the extreme vandalism. Soap dispensers, sink faucets, toilet paper and other bathroom accessories are the most common items to be stolen.
Returning to school after quarantine, teachers already had a lot of stress placed on them. This was another task piled on their already full plate. In some schools, teachers were required to escort kids to the bathroom, or to prevent them from taking their backpacks with them. Even with these protocols, some were still able to participate in this trend.
The MoCo Student collected a few interviews, to see what opinions students had about this. Arav Giragani, a Hallie Wells Middle School student, is upset by this wave of theft “this trend makes students think it’s okay to steal school property by branding it as entertainment, when it’s really theft. It makes students irresponsible and fosters an unhealthy learning environment.” He adds that “because of the trend, schools are forced to pay for stolen or damaged property, which depending on what is stolen or broken, can range from a hundred to a thousand dollars. This negatively affects the school because they have to take money out of their small budget for something that costs a lot of money. And taking money away from clubs and other parts of the school that actually need [the] money.” So, not only does the trend create an urge for students to steal, but also destroys school property. He said, “Janitors and school staff end up cleaning everything up, and it completely unfair.
Some believe this to be a short-lived trend that will dissipate with time. To that another middle school student said “time doesn’t matter. What matters is the damage that was done in that time. Many things were stolen in that span of two weeks, and teachers and students are still dealing with the long lasting consequences.” Samanvi Hari, another student from Hallie Wells MIddle school agreed with others interviewed. “I think it affects students in a harmful way because they are getting exposed to the idea of stealing from school property. Students are vandalizing so much that it’s getting to be too much. Students get the idea that if everyone else is doing it, it’s totally ok for them to be doing it.”
There is a common disdain amongst both students and staff towards the rise in theft of school property. In an ongoing pandemic, when schools are spending valuable resources cleaning and sanitizing, having to pay for repairs creates economic strain. Social media is the main reason why everyone wants to participate in the Devious Lick trend, however, staff and students are urging those participating that this is only harming them in the long run.
Written by Ayza Siddiqi of Hallie Wells Middle School
Photo Courtesy of Valerie Fang of Richard Montgomery High School