School squashes vandals, TikTok trend

Principal warns anyone caught destroying or stealing would be dealt with swiftly, severely

A quick-acting principal promising swift and severe punishment shut down a potentially destructive episode at Vermilion High School, according to the district’s superintendent.

On Sept. 17, someone at the school, 1250 Sanford St., began encouraging students to take part in what’s known as the devious licks trend, which stemmed from a social media site, school officials said.

A student or group of students records themselves damaging or stealing school property and then posts the footage to the social media app TikTok.

After learning of the plan, Vermilion High Principal Jennifer Bengele took to the school’s public address system and warned the student body anybody caught destroying or stealing school property would be dealt with swiftly and severely, according to Vermilion Superintendent Phil Pempin.

One student was disciplined for punching a soap dispenser, but no other major damage was inflicted to the building or any school property, Pempin said.

“I don’t think it was that major,” he said. “Fortunately, we caught it in time.

“The principal did a good job of telling them don’t do it, because if you do, we are going to prosecute if we can catch who did it.”

Parents of students at Vermilion High learned of the trend in an email from the district, Pempin said.

He said he believed the “majority” of students in the district would not have participated.

“They respect the property, and they like coming to school,” Pempin said. “It’s a very small minority that want to come in and deface or destroy a bathroom.”

Pempin said he’s heard reports of school property in other districts damaged in connection with similar TikTok challenges, including in Rocky River.

Rocky River police went to social media to short circuit the trend in that district, according to a posting on its Police Department’s Facebook page from earlier this month.

“Kids are damaging and/or stealing items from school and posting videos showing them committing the act on TikTok,” the post read.

Rocky River police went on to say students involved in damage at three schools in the district face possible suspension and even criminal charges.

And it’s not like the trend is local.

There have been reports of similar incidents throughout the United States.

In California, there were reports of damage and thefts at schools connected to the devious licks trend, according to a report in The Mercury News.

Devious licks traces its origins to the urban slang term, ‘hit a lick’ “which implies getting something of value quickly,” the newspaper said.