In early September, the “Devious Licks” TikTok trend took over social media, and students began posting videos of the various items they stole from restrooms and classrooms. This caused disruption among schools all across the nation.

Since this trend has become so widespread and many have found these “Devious Lick” videos to be humorous, students began to partake in this trend. Some students stole items such as soap dispensers, bathroom mirrors, toilet paper, charging towers, and teachers’ personal belongings. However, the fun quickly came to a halt when every student was caught up with the consequences of their actions.

“Our objective was to get on top of it and let it know that we’re not playing with it at all, to subside it and get the word out like, ‘hey, they’re suspending people, hey, they’re having to pay for what they damaged’,” Bridgeland Campus Officer, Rodney Jones, said.

Students took full responsibility for any damages made, and parents paid for the charges. This way, money did not need to be deducted from the school’s funding.

“We charged the students’ parents, so no matter what the dollar amount is we let the parents know that they have to pay for it or else we’re going to pursue charges for criminal mischief for the damages,” Jones said.

The district’s call to action proved to be effective after many students faced punishments for what they had done. In result, the school noticed that the presence of vandalism began decreasing.

“You’d be surprised, for the most part, it has worked because vandalism has severely decreased, but we are seeing a spectrum of it,” Jones said.

When it comes down to ensuring that situations like this won’t happen again, there is uncertainty. The school doesn’t know whether or not they can fully prevent students from disrupting the school environment due to the fact that unpredictability surrounds the students.

“You’re never too sure, and within the line of field, the work that I do you can never be too sure,” Jones said, “We can only rectify for a period of time, it really depends on the mindset and velocity of the students on campus.”