Student Walkout Staged After Oklahoma School Rejects Mom's Request to Memorialize Dead Son at Graduation

A peaceful and organized student walkout was staged at the Deer Creek High School in Oklahoma after the kids learned that the school rejected a mom's request to memorialize her dead son at the upcoming graduation ceremony.

Mia Hawthorne, one of the students who participated in the student walkout, said that they are standing up for the families of those who are no longer present and could not have a seat at the graduation, per Yahoo! They are hoping that the student walkout would result in a good solution to remember their dead friends.

Deer Creek High School lost at least three young students; thus, their schoolmates want a permanent way to memorialize them. The push was also triggered by a mom, Michele Watson, whose son, Cole Watson, died in a car crash just before his junior year. He was part of Deer Creek High School's Class of 2022.

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Seats for Students "Who Will Be Present"

However, when Michele made a simple request from the school administrators to reserve a seat for her son for the upcoming graduation, the school allegedly informed her that the graduation seats would only be for the kids "who will be present."

In a statement, the school said that their primary concern is to ensure that the graduation ceremony will be a safe and healthy exercise for the attendees. The administrators, however, indicated that they are open to working out a plan that will commemorate both students and staff they have lost, with respect to the families who want some privacy.

In July 2020, Cole, 16, was instantly killed in a car crash caused by a 17-year-old driver who was cruising at the speed of 106 miles per hour. Police indicated that the driver had a .074 blood-alcohol level, according to News 4 Oklahoma.

Cole was in the passenger seat but was not believed to have been drinking before the accident. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which flipped, hit a ditch, and caught fire. The attorney for the Watson family said that the driver had been known to drive at high speeds on the city streets. They are also suing the 21-year-old who bought the alcohol for the driver.

6 Oklahoma High School Girls Killed in Car Crash

The news comes as six high school girls from the Tishomingo High School, also in Oklahoma, recently died in a car crash. According to People, the kids, between 15 to 17 years old, left the school at lunchtime and encountered an accident with a truck at an intersection on U.S. Highway 377.  

Witnesses told investigators that the teenagers' car made a rolling stop at an intersection where a truck was approaching. Only two of the girls were found to be wearing their seatbelts. Tishomingo High School had a memorial service for the students at the football stadium, while many local businesses outside the school flew flags at half-staff.

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