After Student's Suicide, a Moving Post-it Campaign

Beautiful gesture by Ohio high school students
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 2, 2016 8:23 AM CDT
After Student's Suicide, a Moving Post-it Campaign
Inspiring.   (Twitter)

Students at Ohio's Mason High School came into school Wednesday to find a surprise on their lockers: what a Mason City Schools Facebook post called "messages of hope and healing," per the Telegraph. Those messages were encouraging phrases like "You are strong" and "You are unbreakable," scribbled on colorful Post-it notes that were placed on more than 3,600 lockers to lift students' spirits after a fellow student's suicide, reports ABC News. That "bright, funny, and strong" student, 15-year-old sophomore Kwadwo Boateng, died by his own hand on Aug. 25 and was the second Mason High student to take his life this year, reports WLWT.

Kwadwo's death is what spurred sophomore Anna Aronson and four of her friends to spend almost eight hours earlier this week composing the notes, finishing up late at night before the morning of the big reveal. They didn't leave the adults out, either, placing Post-its on classroom doors and employee desks. The reaction from students and staff the next day was exactly what Aronson and Co. had hoped for. "It literally lightened the entire building's heart," the school's principal tells ABC. "It felt like this huge weight had just been lifted." The girls behind the Post-it blitz are thrilled their campaign went over so well, but they give the real credit to the student so dearly missed. "We basically did this because this is what Kwadwo would do," Anna tells WCPO. (A teen killed herself because of a "racist" image.)

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