Students are stealing paper towel dispensers, lab equipment, and school bus parts to flex as "devious licks" in the latest back-to-school trend on TikTok. Well, at least they claim they are.
In a video posted last week, TikTok user @oskarsoskar, unzips their backpack and pulls out two COVID antigen testing kits. They toss the kits into a larger pile of boxed kits on their bed, and then pans over to a duffle bag filled with even more kits. As the music builds, @oskarsoskar pulls out a drawer from under their bed, revealing even more antigen testing kits.
"Mfs doing great licks,"@oskarsoskar captioned the video, which has more than 2.3 million views as of Monday. "I'm out here doing a whole Heist."
They posted the video again the same day, racking up 4.6 million views, and captioned it, "I won this trend."
The opening bars to Lil B's "Ski Ski BasedGod" — sped up to a frantic, tension-building trill — provide the backing track to these alleged school supply heists, which has become a trend on the app as schools return to in-person classes. In a typical video, the TikTok user unzips their backpack to reveal their apparently stolen goods. The more difficult to obtain, the more devious the lick. Toilet paper rolls, class pets, and a classmate's shoes are small-grade licks. Mid-tier licks include parking signs, school laptops, and desk chairs. Especially complex swipes like an entire filing cabinet or security cameras are referred to as nefarious, diabolical, and godforsaken licks.
As of Monday, there are over 76,000 videos using the sped-up version of "Ski Ski BasedGod," and 24,500 videos using an identical sound posted by a different TikTok user. The tag #deviouslick has 175.2 million views.
The trend started when TikTok user jugg4elias posted a video on Sept. 1 showing off a box of disposable face masks they claimed to have stolen from school, according to Know Your Meme.
"A month into school...absolutely devious lick," they captioned the video, adding "Should've brought a mask from home. Now look at you walkin round campus maskless you dirty dog."
The video racked up more than 345,800 views before it was removed on Monday.
TikTok user whiteboywes upped the ante last week, posting a video unzipping their backpack to reveal a wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispenser. The video now has more than 13 million views, and the user appears to have changed their name to dtx.2cent.
Amid videos of actual stolen property, TikTok users are also bragging about implausible heists. The tongue-in-cheek videos feature students admonishing others for their small licks before revealing "stolen" cop cars and school busses.
"In just a few minutes...I'm going to win this trend," TikTok user ucharlie captioned video of himself pretending to dismantle a boiler.
Another user posted a video of a massive bronze horse statue at the entrance of their school building, writing, "I'm finna hit the most diabolical lick of the school year."
One posted space footage of planet Earth, joking they "hit the biggest lick in the universe."
Other students are fed up with the antics. TikTok users complained that school bathrooms are closed because of missing toilets and stolen bathroom stall dividers. One user joked about being scared to use public restrooms, lest their shoes be stolen from under the stall door in the name of a devious lick.
And school administrators are threatening consequences for the trending theft. TikTok user drexerss posted a recording of a school announcement imploring kids to stop stealing soap dispensers and warning students that if caught, they'll be disciplined.
"For those that are participating, please know that when we do catch you we will discipline you to the fullest extent and you will be arrested and you will be responsible for any of the monetary damages that have been done," the school administrator said in the video. "Because of the antics of a few, we don't have soap in any of the boys' restrooms...nor do we have any more soap dispensers so you will not be able to thoroughly wash your hands."
The administrator added that the school had to close one of the bathrooms because of the damages from this trend.
In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Sunlake High School in Land O'Lakes, Florida told parents that stealing school property may seem like a "harmless prank," the trend does involve "criminal activity."
"Soap dispensers, exit signs, safety signage for fire rescue, and classroom telephones are just a few of the items that were removed and stolen this week," the school posted. "We love our Seahawks and we do not want to see any of them arrested so PLEASE talk to your kids. If they are participating in this activity you will be hearing from an administrator and our School Resource Officer. Let's work together to put a stop to this now."
One student on TikTok said participants "took this devious lick thing too far" and now their school is only allowing transparent backpacks. Another school is taking "anti-menace" measures by locking soap dispensers in metal casing.
It's unclear if these measures were already in place, or if students are posting these consequence videos to get in on the trend.
And while the trend may appear harmless, already underfunded schools are taking a hit. YouTuber and streamer Arthur EXE responded to another student who claimed they stole a SMART Board, which can cost a classroom between $2,000 to $7,000 for the hardware alone.
A lot of you don't realize how expensive a SMART Board is. Buying a SMART Board is basically taking out a small loan.
"A lot of you don't realize how expensive a SMART Board is," Arthur EXE said, adding that his mother is a teacher. "Buying a SMART Board is basically taking out a small loan...This might be the greatest lick in history."
The base price of the interactive board itself doesn't include the cost of installation or software licensing, which varies by brand but can still cost tens of thousands of dollars. And while the cost of most classroom furniture like desks, boards, and basic technology is covered by the school district, teachers are still burdened with paying for other supplies out-of-pocket.
Bottom line: devious licks can be fun, but they do hurt actual teachers trying to do their jobs, and punish students who didn't even participate in trend. And while there aren't any lick-related arrests made public yet, it's a very real consequence of attempting a heist just for some clout.
Topics TikTok
