OXFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — "We are done being silenced," said Oxford High School junior Giselle Gillim moments after she and other students walked out of class Tuesday morning to rally support for changes and action.
"We are done sitting in pain and suffering and looking in the eyes of the people responsible for the death of our Wildcats, walking freely in our community," Gillim added. "We will do whatever it takes to make them leave."
Some parents attended the walkout, "We Will Be Heard", that Gillim helped organize, in hopes of gaining community support for three things the students are asking the district.
The following are the three things the students are asking for are included in a statement that discusses additional concerns they have with the district.
- We need healing, we have not been provided the type of critical incident trauma recovery services that we were required to receive and instead we’ve been told not to talk about it, we’ve been silenced. We want to speak up, and we want the right to heal.
- We want a memorial. A real one. At the school, placed where we want it. Without the interference of administration, the board, or anyone involved/responsible for Nov. 30th. With the images of Hana, Tate, Madisyn, and Justin. Their faces are not our triggers. They will always be remembered.
- The persons named in the independent investigation as having failed to do their job which resulted in deaths and trauma to us as students should not be in our building or employed in our district. Their presence is causing extreme duress and they must be removed.
Click on the video to hear from the students.
The students are encouraging members of their community to join them at the next board meeting on November 28.
The board meetings will be moved to Lakeville Elementary School’s cafetorium to accommodate attendance, according to the district's website.
"As required by the Open Meetings Act and Board Bylaws, in order to change the venue, the regular meeting scheduled on November 28, 2023, at OMS needs to be canceled and replaced with a special meeting to be held at Lakeville Elementary School on November 28, 2023. At this business meeting, the Board will make a motion to change venues to the larger location at Lakeville Elementary for the remainder of the year," the website reads.
Next Tuesday's special meeting will begin at 5 pm with interviews for the superintendent search firms and will continue at 6:30 pm with the Board’s regular business meeting.
