An Instagram page named “schscoup” has been posting anonymous comments regarding the SCHS Leadership class.

With a description stating to “replace the tyrants of the old SCHS ASB and Leadersh*t,” the account has garnered controversial attention since its inception two weeks ago.

“Our end goal is to get as many students to run for ASB and leadership positions and replace the current members, many of whom abused their power and do not care about our school,” the manager of “schscoup” said.

The manager said they live in a different state and simply works to direct the account for a group of SCHS students who are unhappy with the current student government. According to the manager, the account was originally started by several SCHS students but was later given to the current manager to continue posting Instagram submissions.

The Leadership students have not made any public responses, but they are aware of the account.

“When I woke up, and I saw five different people asking me if I saw this, I looked and, if it were years past, I would’ve cried a lot and said, ‘Oh my gosh, this is all my fault,’” ASB President Grace Wills said. “But then I was just thinking that this is irrelevant to me. Of course, I want to hear every student, but if they wanted to say something and have me hear it and have Leadership hear it, they would’ve brought it up to us.”

Skylar Barbero, spirit representative of the junior class, stated that in the beginning of the account’s creation, Leadership students thought of “schscoup” lightly. They became more worried when the account started targeting specific people.

“Most of us are used to backlash because we cannot please everyone,” Barbero said. “It started to become a problem when the account started targeting the people in Leadership rather than the integrity of Leadership. Saying that certain people are the ones corrupting our student body is picking on individuals and is the turning point that divides freedom of speech and cyberbullying.”

Vice Principal of Activities Erin Brown, who advises the Leadership class, stated that the account does not address their complaints against the ASB in a “healthy, proactive, kind way.”

“I think that account is unfortunate, and I think that what really most want is to make sure that the kids that were singled out is not how we handle problems,” Brown said.

Because of the anonymity of the posts, the account has been criticized as cyberbullying.

“Anonymity is the place of cowards,” Principle Gregory Shelby said. “People who actually believe in what they say should stand up and say it. This is not who we are at this school, and it reflects poorly on the student body.”

The school administration has been investigating the account, calling students in individually for more information. Junior Sean Nguyen was one of those students.

“[Mr. Flora] said that while asking other people about it, my name came up a lot,” Nguyen said. “He asked if I knew about the account and asked to look at my Instagram.”  

Vice Principal of Discipline Terry Flora stated that “all school consequences are on the table” for any SCHS students that are managing the account.

“It’s tempting to use social media in a negative way,” Flora said. “We hope students make the right choices.”

Currently, the account has 126 followers and 56 posts, and the last post was uploaded on Monday, April 30.

The account was preceded by another Instagram account of a similar nature named “schscf*ckthesbo.” The “schscoup” manager confirmed that it was created by the same group of students but was replaced because “schsf*ckthesbo” was an account made only for gaining attention. At one point, “schsf*ckthesbo” had over 60 posts and 250 followers.

Flora believes that these Instagram accounts stemmed from dissatisfaction with the Leadership class, and he encourages students to make improvements through open dialogue rather than anonymous criticism. He also suggests students to run for ASB positions themselves.

“If you aren’t happy with the way things are, participate by joining,” Flora said. “It’s open to everyone.”