School & District Management

School Shooting Survivors at Odds With District Over Graduation Cords

By Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News — May 16, 2023 4 min read
Oxford High School student return to school after they walked out of classes on May 26, 2022, in Oxford, Mich., to show their support for the Uvalde, Texas community and the recent mass shooting that occurred at an elementary school. A judge says a lawsuit can go forward against a Michigan school district that is accused of making poor decisions before a teenager killed four fellow students in 2021.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Orange is the color of the gun violence prevention movement—and it’s the color of a special commencement cord a group of 2023 Oxford High School graduates plans to wear to symbolize they are survivors of gun violence as they cross the stage and obtain their diploma this week.

Oxford school officials are not having it. The district, where a school shooting in 2021 killed four students and injured seven others, first asked the seniors not to divert from the traditions of commencement. Then, the district offered a “specially designed navy and gold Wildcat honor cord to its graduation wear.”

The battle between the kids and school leaders has been brewing for weeks, with graduation looming Thursday.

See Also

61322 Graduation Cap Florida BS 7
Jonathon Parker, pictured on the chair, should have walked across the graduation stage with classmates from the Deer Valley High School Class of 2022 last week in Antioch, Calif. But he was shot and killed by another student more than two years ago in the school parking lot.
Courtesy of Jonathon Parker's family

Olivia Curtis, a graduating senior and close friend of the St. Juliana family, whose daughter Hana, 14, was killed in the school shooting on Nov. 30, 2021, said the orange cord is important to her for two reasons.

“First, it honors Hana. And second, since commencement is supposed to be about the things that you’ve accomplished, wearing the orange cord to represent surviving a school shooting just feels right. It’s part of who we are,” Curtis said.

The students have the support of several parents, including Marisa Prince, who ordered 200 orange cords from the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety and is handing them out for free to the students.

“We as adults we put them in this position where they have no choice to become activists on this issue because of what they lived through,” Prince said. “Some students have chosen to champion the issue of mass shootings and gun violence because of what they have experienced and they want to prevent this from happening again, due to adults failing to protect them.”

Others, like 2017 OHS graduate Olivia Upham, whose brother Keegan survived the attack and is set to graduate on Thursday, emailed the school board telling them high school graduations in Oxford are simply not like those before 2021.

“There is no reversal. However, it is not too late to honor, respect, and bear witness to those who will walk across that stage,” Upham wrote in her email. “Please, allow these children to be seen, to honor their own journeys in the way THEY see fit, and encourage them to wear the orange cords if they so requested them. To compare this to a political agenda is ludicrous, laughable, and shameful.”

See Also

Illustration of child holding missing adult hand.
F.Sheehan/Education Week and Getty

The 2022 Oxford High School graduating class honored their fallen classmates in different ways, with signs, photographs and in speeches. Two seats were left empty for the 17-year-old seniors who were among those slain in the attack: Madisyn Baldwin and Justin Shilling. Their families were presented the teens’ robes and school honors in large frames.

Oxford superintendent Vickie L. Markavitch said on Monday keeping the focus on students and their accomplishments was behind her decision and that special recognition was being given to the graduating classes with the new honor cord in school colors of navy and gold.

“The reason I am not approving or endorsing the orange cord that is being distributed by an outside organization is because the tradition of Oxford High School’s Graduation has been to keep the focus solely on students and their accomplishments,” Markavitch said. “My endorsement of other symbolic graduation wear would set a precedent that could erode that tradition and more importantly the focus on students and their accomplishments.”

… Wearing the orange cord to represent surviving a school shooting just feels right. It’s part of who we are.

Some graduating seniors initiated a tribute to OHS students Tate Myre, a junior who died in the school attack and was expected to graduate in 2023, and Daphne Beethem, a senior who died in a car accident on April 13. At graduation rehearsal on Tuesday, seniors will have the opportunity to accept a tassel charm with pictures of both students that they may attach to their graduation cap, school officials said.

On May 9, the district sent a message to families about students who want to wear a symbol “acknowledging the incomparable challenges they have had to face in their journey to achieve their high school diploma.”

Markavitch announced the district added a specially designed navy and gold honor cord to its graduation wear.

“The Wildcat honor cord will symbolize the resilience and strength these students have had to find within themselves, forging ahead to complete their graduation requirements while healing from the trauma and after-effects of the November 30, 2021 tragedy,” the email said.

Those cords will be handed out to seniors at graduation rehearsal.

Oxford parent Chalmers Fitzpatrick said she was angry with the district over their position on the cord.

“These free tassels represent surviving a mass shooting and it takes maturity and courage to acknowledge being a survivor. You cannot pretend it didn’t happen by refusing to let kids, teachers, staff, substitutes, etc. wear orange,” Fitzpatrick wrote in her email to the board. “In fact, the school should hand these out along with the program to all attendees who wish to wear orange and support our children. I believe the statement by the school was that wearing Orange is political? There is NOTHING political about being shot at while in school!”

Related Video: How a School Shooting Survivor Found Healing in Activism

Copyright (c) 2023, The Detroit News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
(Re)Focus on Dyslexia: Moving Beyond Diagnosis & Toward Transformation
Move beyond dyslexia diagnoses & focus on effective literacy instruction for ALL students. Join us to learn research-based strategies that benefit learners in PreK-8.
Content provided by EPS Learning
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
How Early Adopters of Remote Therapy are Improving IEPs
Learn how schools are using remote therapy to improve IEP compliance & scalability while delivering outcomes comparable to onsite providers.
Content provided by Huddle Up
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Cohesive Instruction, Connected Schools: Scale Excellence District-Wide with the Right Technology
Ensure all students receive high-quality instruction with a cohesive educational framework. Learn how to empower teachers and leverage technology.
Content provided by Instructure

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management This State Is Bucking Gender and Race Trends in School Leadership
A 12-year study in one state shows a major uptick in the diversity of school leaders.
8 min read
principal diversity 1423165395
kali9/E+
School & District Management NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks Plans to Resign Amid Federal Investigation
The hand-picked head of the nation’s largest school district is expected to resign amid a federal corruption investigation.
Cayla Bamberger
1 min read
David Banks, chancellor of New York Public schools, answers a question during a House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
David Banks, chancellor of New York City public schools, answers a question during a congressional hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools on May 8, 2024. Banks is expected to resign amid a federal corruption investigation.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
School & District Management Opinion 5 Lessons Principals Can Learn From U.S. Presidents About Leadership
What does it take to lead a school in this polarized political climate? Let history be your guide.
Ronald S. Thomas
5 min read
Conceptual image of a crowd gathered outside the White House watching what the president will do. Giant sky compass represents the decisions the President of the United States must make.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management What Stresses Out Superintendents? It Depends on How Big Their District Is
The tasks taking up superintendents' time and their top sources of stress differ depending on the size of the districts they lead.
3 min read
Illustration of a man wearing a tie, covering his and running away from icons in the air behind him. Icons consist of charts, books, emojis, lightbulb, target, clipboard with checklist, calculator, money, and various social media icons.
iStock/Getty