Metro Vancouver schools left damaged by ‘Devious Lick’ social media challenge
Posted September 17, 2021 7:41 am.
Last Updated September 17, 2021 10:40 am.
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Less than two weeks into the school year and kids are already up to no good, with a new social media challenge seeing some Metro Vancouver schools ransacked and bathrooms vandalized so badly they have to be closed. Districts in Vancouver, North Vancouver, New Westminster, Chilliwack, and Langley are among the ones that have seen students participate in this challenge, called “Devious Lick.” The term “Lick” is slang for a successful theft with a payday.
The challenge involves students posting videos on TikTok showing them stealing, damaging or showing off items taken from school.
Schools respond
Gerry Slykhuis with the Chilliwack School District says in the last few days they’ve lost 42 soap dispensers and three toilet paper dispensers in three high schools because of the challenge.
“There’s certainly a significant labour cost involved in each of these as well as the frustration, because our maintenance staff are already really busy and it’s a waste of their time to have to do these very unproductive tasks when they could be fixing things they’d like to get fixed,” Slykhuis said.
He says it’s a challenge to replace the missing items as well, partly due to the pandemic but also because so many districts are seeing the trend explode.
The problem is so bad in North Vancouver, the District has sent out letters to families warning parents about the legal consequences of theft and vandalism.
“In a short period of time, this “challenge” has already led to several acts of vandalism, theft and destruction of property. Soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers and signage have been forcibly removed from walls, wall mirrors have been damaged, and a number of classroom-based items have been stolen,” the letter reads in part.
District principal Brad Baker says they are working to find the culprits, but they know that it is only a small group of students causing the damage to several high schools.
He says illegal activity can follow a student and impact their future, especially as they apply for scholarships/awards, post-secondary or career opportunities.
“Some possible consequences obviously could be suspension from school but also repayment of damage to the school,” he said about the short-term penalty.
He says they don’t know the extent of the financial impact yet.
“We know that the money that is being used should be use for educational purposes at this point. So, it has kind of taken away from the educational purposes of our school.”
The New Westminster School District is also dealing the the fallout of the challenge, telling NEWS 1130 it is disappointed to see some students taking part, and that some bathrooms and school spaces have been damaged as a result.
“They are putting the health and safety of students and staff at risk, and we know they will have long-term consequences as the cost to clean, repair and replace equipment will inevitably take away from future opportunities for other students or projects,” the District said in an email to NEWS 1130.
While the Vancouver School District says it has not “received widespread reports of missing bathroom equipment,” principals are aware of the challenge, and “will work with the student population to address the matter immediately.”
Its statement adds, “any type of vandalism, theft or destruction of property in schools is not condoned and against the school code of conduct.”
Frustrating teachers
“It needs to come to an end. There’s about 10 soap dispensers missing, okay, five doors, 20 toilets, guys this needs to come to an end. My pencil sharpener got stolen this morning,” they said.
A teacher in Texas was so fed up she made her own video.
@elocinrenae♬ Sleepmode – Official Sound Studio
TikTok bans the videos
Now in an attempt to curb the challenge, TikTok is making it harder to find videos featuring the challenge.
“We expect our community to create responsibly – online and IRL. We’re removing content and redirecting hashtags & search results to our Community Guidelines to discourage such behavior. Please be kind to your schools & teachers,” TikTok wrote on Twitter.
We expect our community to create responsibly – online and IRL. We're removing content and redirecting hashtags & search results to our Community Guidelines to discourage such behavior. Please be kind to your schools & teachers. pic.twitter.com/mIFtsYwFRb
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) September 15, 2021
