Vandalism and Theft: How the Devious Licks TikTok Trend Ravaged Schools

In the first few weeks of the academic year, a viral TikTok trend held schools across the country hostage. The trend involved students purposefully vandalizing and stealing from their schools to post what they did on TikTok.

The majority of the vandalism occurred in boys’ bathrooms. Students ripped out soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers, sinks, and even urinals straight from the walls and took them home.  

The trend first hit Bay Area public schools in early September. Damage has been severe, causing  bathroom closures and the diminishment of emergency supplies at several schools.

“Unfortunately, only the PE locker room, 1000 Building and Commons boys' restrooms will be open for the rest of the week,” Dougherty Valley School Principal Evan Powell wrote in an email to parents. “Our reserve supplies have been depleted within one week and we are waiting for the next order to arrive.” 

Although parents and administrators are furious, the destruction has affected students the most.

“It is hard to go to the bathroom at school because there is no soap anywhere,.” cComplained Trent Rong ’23, a student from San Ramon Valley High School.

Locally, stolen goods were not only limited to bathroom supplies. According to the SRVUSD parents Facebook group, a golf cart was stolen from a house near San Ramon Valley High and flipped several times in the school parking lot. Even though the incident happened off of school grounds, it is suspected that the theft was motivated by the TikTok trend.

“I was going to the bathroom and smelled incense,” Rong said when talking about other incidents at San Ramon Valley High School. “I walked out of my stall and then the fire alarm went off. I heard screaming and when I looked into the open stall I saw two kids flushing flames down the toilet.”

“Someone blew up the a porta potty at SRV and got the bomb squad called on him … He used fireworks.” San Ramon Valley High School student Ila Milelli ’23, said.

Though less frequent, vandalism has also occurred at middle schools. 

“Someone at my school flushed the soap dispensers and paper towel things down the toilet,” said Keaton ’28, a student from Charlotte Wood Middle School. “Now it's clogged.”

When asked about devious licks at school, administrators from San Ramon Valley High, Monte Vista, Cal High, and Dougherty Valley all refused to comment. The San Ramon Valley Unified School District also refused to comment.

On September 17th an email informed the Dean of Students Susie Childs, the Chief Operations Officer Keith Powell, the Director of Operations Bridget Guerra, the head of the Maintenance Department Johnny Payton, and the SSC Manager Karla Simmons of the trend through an ABC news article.

Later, on September 29th, Childs was informed of an Athenian incident in which the paper towel dispenser was torn off the wall and the urinal shield shoved into the back of the sit-down toilet.

“Tearing the toilet paper off the wall maybe it could have been an animal but putting the urinal shield in the toilet was definitely a person.” Childs said. “There’s no way a racoon or another animal could think of doing that.”

So far, the culprit has not publicly been identified. Furthermore, an anonymous source from the Disciplinary Committee said that there has been no trial for the individual responsible.

The wave of attacks has subsided since the months of September and October and American schools hope it will continue that way.