Strongsville students silent protest

"We think it's important that the public know what's happening in the schools," said senior Jordan Kelley, who held a silent rally March 5 to protest administrators asking students not to post on social media about the teachers strike.

(Photo by CORY SHAFFER, SUN NEWS)

STRONGSVILLE-

About 20 students at Strongsville High School held a silent rally outside the Board of Education office March 5, over what they say was

.

"We want to show the administration we have a voice, and that we want to use it," said senior Jordan Kelley.

The students, some wearing duct tape over their mouths and carrying signs, were protesting an announcement at the beginning of the day, in which Strongsville High School Principal William Steffen asked the children to refrain from posting on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Steffen said he's been trying to tell students since yesterday-

- that, when they post things online, they're there forever and that has the potential to be seen by the entire nation.

"I've told them that some of the rumors that they're putting out there are putting our students and our school in a bad light," he said. "We had a student tell the students on announcements to keep it classy."

Kelley and some of his classmates did not take kindly to the message, and neither did the online "hacktivist" group Anonymous, which began Tweeting out to its millions of followers phone numbers of administrators to call, demanding they not silence students.

Some of the protesting students were donning Guy Fawkes masks, a British historical figure who was idolized in the 2005 movie "V for Vendetta" and whose likeness has been adopted by Anonymous.

Some students who were in the school described the account differently.

Senior Anthony Kowalski said on Twitter that while the administrators did say to keep off social media, "there was no ban with punishments."

"There was no ban at the high school today," he said. "It was just a reminder to keep it sophisticated."

A user who just goes by Aziz had a similar story.

"I was there, he told us to be careful what we post online," Aziz said. "Never said to stop talking about the strike."

But, as Kelley said they were told to "stay off social media," he and his fellow students at the Board of Education office made it clear that they wouldn't listen.

"This isn't about taking sides in the teachers strike," Kelley said. "We think it's important that the public knows what's happening inside the schools."

Follow news about the strike using #SCSstrike and following @cory_shaffer and @StrongsvilleOhio on Twitter.

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Contact Shaffer at (216) 986-5479 or cshaffer@sunnews.com.

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