Threatening social media trends at MHS: Devious Licks
MUSD’s Board President gathers student leaders to delve into threatening social media trends
September 23, 2021
On September 22, 2021, Milpitas Unified School District Board of Education President Chris Norwood convened a 60-minute Special Board Study Session with student leadership, Milpitas law enforcement and district leaders to discuss social media trends in our school communities and their impact on safety and resource utilization. In attendance were secondary school principals, assistant principals, teachers, students, and student governance leaders from Milpitas High School, Milpitas Middle College High School, Calaveras Hills High School, Thomas Russell Middle School and Rancho Middle School.
It was an eye-opening discussion. Students shared their knowledge of the many different social media trends, concerns, and platforms used most commonly for fun and in education. Three of the biggest student concerns were cyberbullying, unknowingly communicating with strangers and being trolled. Twitch, Discord, YouTube, Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok and other international platforms that pay users for content were mentioned as dominating the hearts and minds of the youth.
IMPORTANT – Be Aware of “Devious Licks” TikTok Challenge
Dear MHS Community,
We are alerting you to a new trend on social media called “Devious Licks.” This trend involves encouraging teens to “lick” or steal items from school, whether these items are soap dispensers, teacher’s keys, urinals, or more, including school buses, and then posting about the stolen item on social media with the hashtag, #deviouslicks. Across our campus, we have already had incidents of soap dispensers being ripped off the walls, restrooms being vandalized, toilets and urinals clogged and overflowing, locker doors being stolen, and other acts of vandalism.
Here is a link to an NBC News video and article about this costly, community-damaging trend: NBC News – TikTok Devious Licks Trend
In response to this, we are alerting our MHS staff about this trend and asking our community to be vigilant about their student’s actions and social media activity, and encourage them that if they see something they should report it to an adult on campus.
This is a very serious offense, and if a student is found to be stealing, being in possession of stolen items, or damaging school property (which also includes people’s personal belongings), the MHS administration will take the appropriate disciplinary action which may include:
- Loss of privileges for the remainder of the school year, including participation in athletics or other extracurricular activities, attending athletic games, dances, and graduation activities;
- Seek reimbursement for the stolen and damaged items from the student or their family;
- Suspension from school.
- In more severe situations, where a student violates penal code, the referral to local law enforcement may be made.
As suspensions are a last resort disciplinary action, a student taking accountability is a positive step in the restorative justice process. Students who engage in, confess to, and/or return items that were stolen or damaged while engaging in this trend will be recognized for their desire to be a part of the restorative process in the determination of appropriate disciplinary actions.
Please talk with your student about the serious consequences of participating in this trend, or participating in any other activity that involves stealing or damaging school and personal property. We also encourage monitoring of students’ social media activity, as these types of social media challenges tend to involve risky behaviors of which students do not typically realize the serious consequences or threat to the safety of our schools and community until it’s too late.
Thank you for your assistance in helping to put a stop to this negative activity in our community.
Francis Rojas
Principal