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FLORIDA REDUX???? THIS IS WHAT THE KIDS LEARNED?? THIS, FROM ANOTHER PAPER!

High School Election Gets NAACP Attention
African-American Elected Senior Class President Makes History, Deals With Controversy

POSTED: 9:29 p.m. EDT May 13, 2003
UPDATED: 9:31 p.m. EDT May 13, 2003

CLEVELAND -- Mentor High School's election of a senior class president is in limbo -- some saying it is a textbook case of race discrimination.

Ollie Thomas Jr. is the kind of kid that would make any parent proud -- honor roll student, track star, and active church member.

And now, Thomas has made history at Mentor High School by becoming the first African-American to be elected as the school's senior class president.

"I was happy, running around the school," Thomas said.

But Thomas soon learned his joy would be short-lived.

The day following the election announcement, Thomas says he was shocked to hear what people were saying.

"People were talking about how I had rigged the votes, people didn't count all the votes, some of the votes didn't count so I could win," Thomas said.

Thomas denies all these accusations, and his father sees this election as clear as black and white.

"We went from the 21st century to the 19th century all over again," Thomas' father said. "They thought it was cute that he ran, but had no idea he could win."

The school's principal says it is not about the color of skin, but the number of extra ballots in the box -- in this case, more ballots than voters.

Mentor High School Principal John Schweitzer says they are in the middle of trying to figure out what happened and what to do next.

In the meantime, the NAACP is getting involved. The organization has sent a letter to the superintendent saying they are concerned and asking the district to weigh out any decisions very carefully.

Schweitzer hopes to get to the bottom of what happened very soon -- perhaps by the end of the week.

When I was in high school, many of us believed some of the election outcomes were rigged by the teacher advisors. We didn't care much, and figured we were just getting screwed like we always thought. There was one instance in which no one believed the count, but no one demanded an investigation.

I feel bad for all candidates involved with this one. If the black kid truly won, it won't matter. His victory will be tarnished forever, and that's a damned shame.