As one would presume, bathrooms play a critical role at any high school. A strategic understanding of the distance between the nearest bathroom to one’s classroom is absolutely crucial for student success. Presumably, the bathroom would be the last place subject to restriction or pranks.

Enter devious licks. Post-COVID, a social media trend spread through the internet, one where middle and high school students perform acts of vandalism. PBS states, “Known as the Devious Licks challenge, it has encouraged students to record a video of themselves stealing or vandalizing school property, everything from bathroom soap dispensers and exit signs to fire extinguishers, and amounting to untold thousands of dollars’ worth of damage, and then posting the video on TikTok.” Though it is described as school property as a whole, instigators most often target bathroom objects. According to the SmartCheck, “[Bathrooms are] one of the few places students aren’t monitored. This unchecked environment has unfortunately turned restrooms into prime targets for vandalism, impacting not only the school’s financial resources but also its overall safety and environment.” Wide-scale destruction leads to wide-scale shutdown of school bathrooms. According to CNN, “TikTok has been quick to shut down the trend, with the company removing many of the videos from its platform.” However, USA Today highlights the perseverance of the trend, stating, “In response, TikTok users have begun using alternative hashtags and keywords such as #dispicablelicks. Police across the U.S. have begun arresting and charging students after reports of vandalism and theft. Nine students have been arrested on misdemeanor vandalism charges in Marion County Public Schools in north-central Florida for [school vandalism]  incidents.” CNN goes on to explain that the popularity of the trend is rooted in peer pressure: “Over the past year, Duffy said several boys have been referred to him by schools for vandalizing property. One of the students who had destroyed a bathroom admitted that he didn’t want to do it but succumbed to peer pressure.” Although to most, the devious licks trend seems like apparent vandalism that only harms the student body, its widespread popularity has led to it being more normalized, something that only propels the cycle of the devious licks trend. 

Although in recent years, the devious licks trend has died down, it is definitely not all gone. Even this academic school year, there have been multiple bathroom shutdowns, most notably in the theater bathroom at IHS. Senior Ellie Lim says, “this vandalism is mostly graffiti in the stalls and usually the big stall has it the worst. For a long time the girls’ commons’ bathroom was missing a paper towel dispenser but I’m not sure if that was vandalism or it just broke.” Additionally, the bathrooms vandalized vary, but Lim notices that “the commons and gym bathrooms are more vandalized.” She theorizes that this is “ because those are used the most frequently, and so have a higher chance of being vandalized. Also I believe most of the vandalism is being done by kids who skip class, and they usually don’t bother climbing the stairs to camp out in the upper bathrooms—this is just a guess though.” 

These pranks result in the shutdown of bathrooms causing a major inconvenience to students. Although there are other bathrooms at IHS and in 2024 typically only a couple are closed due to vandalism, this still means students must hunt down other working bathrooms. Especially on the first floor with equidistant-spaced bathrooms, this takes much longer than on the second or third floor, where you simply walk down a floor and switch a wing. As junior Mateo Romeyer puts it, “Bathroom vandalism  just makes you waste your time when you go to the bathroom.” Freshman Lauretta Finholm adds, “One time I had rehearsal and wanted to use the theater bathrooms, but because they were shut down I had to find the gym bathroom instead.” 

There is a thin line that separates a prank from vandalism, in this case. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a prank ranges anywhere from a malicious act to a mildly malicious act to a ludicrous act. However, the modern day connotation is less vague, sticking more to a connotation of a ludicrous or non-malicious action. In contrast, according to Oxford vandalism is defined as, “action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.” So, where is the thin line that separates them? Romeyer says, “Vandalism is unfixed property damage.” If the prank was easy to undo or caused no permanent damage, it may lean more towards a silly prank. Sophomore Matthew Finnigan says, “Pranks don’t impact a large population or students that don’t consent to getting pranked. It would generally would have to be more fun or humorous than inconvenient.” 

Although the IHS administration has been attempting to deal with the situation, it seems that it still continues. The target of bathrooms makes this monitoring difficult, as bathrooms are necessary for a proper school to function, and administration cannot easily monitor bathrooms. This ultimately just leads to a “closed due to vandalism” sign posted on the bathroom while the bathroom is fixed.  

The devious licks trend and bathroom vandalism situation as a whole negatively impacts both students and administration. Ultimately, devious licks has surpassed being a simple prank and is now an inconvenient form of vandalism. There is a thin line between the two, and it has been far passed, going from 2021 staying into 2024. Yet, each year this trend decreases, and we see a return in available bathrooms. Here’s to hoping it stays that way.