There are symbols delicately placed throughout Hana’s Garden in Oxford Township’s Seymour Lake Park to memorialize the four students killed in a shooting at Oxford High School in November 2021.
There are blueberry bushes for 16-year-old Tate Myre to symbolize his giving nature, butterfly figurines for 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, bushes to feed pollinators for 17-year-old Justin Shilling.
For Hana St. Juliana, 14, there are flowers since that is what her name means in Japanese. Many are purple, her favorite color. Winding crushed stone paths, shaded benches, and trickling waters offer visitors a peaceful place to reflect, heal, and honor the four students.
“We’re here to remember Hana, to remember Madison, Tate and Justin,” said Steve St. Juliana, Hana’s father, during a Sunday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the garden built for his daughter. “To remember that these deaths were preventable, absolutely preventable, that the failures that led to these needless deaths can be corrected so this doesn’t have to happen to other families in the future. That with meaningful change, we can do a better job of protecting our children in the future.”
St. Juliana spoke to a crowd of hundreds gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He implored them to take steps beyond remembering the victims of the shooting and join the victims’ families in advocating for measures to prevent future school violence.
He asked the crowd to read the independent report written by Guidepost Solutions so they could draw their own conclusions about the failures that led to the shooting and to call on state legislators to advocate for fixes.
“At the core of it, the people have to take action for themselves,” he said after the ribbon-cutting.
Specifically, St. Juliana said lawmakers need to take an axe to governmental immunity laws that shield public bodies from the legal consequences of school shootings and other tragedies and to overhaul school safety laws to hold schools and officials accountable when violence takes place.
The families of slain Oxford students have advocated for changes and further investigation in meetings with legislators, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
“We have strived to salvage something meaningful from this tragedy, to bring out the facts, to create lessons learned and drive the change necessary to protect our children,” St. Juliana said.
Earlier this year, the Attorney General’s office said it would spend six months evaluating existing investigatory materials of the shooting before launching its own probe. Last week, the Michigan Supreme Court said it would not hear arguments in a case against Oxford Community Schools.
As the Oxford students’ families push for changes to protect against future school violence, St. Juliana said the Oxford Township garden will represent Hana and her selflessness. He envisions hosting community events there.
Sheri Uchiyama, of Northville, carried a bouquet of purple flowers as she read the bronze plaque dedicating the garden to Hana. She is a friend of Hana’s mother and visited on Sunday to support the family and their vision for a memorial garden.
Uchiyama said she was one of many people who helped raise funds for the garden. She and her daughter made greeting cards they sold as part of a fundraiser.
The initial vision for Hana’s memorial was limited to a tree and bench, she said. But with community support, it blossomed into an elaborate Japanese-style garden.
“That really speaks volumes to the community here in Oxford,” Uchiyama said.
Ian Golden, 8, and his mother, Shannon Terry, 38, of Leonard, bought origami cranes and a decorative garden stake on Sunday. The items will help them honor and remember Hana at home, Terry said.
Terry said the Sunday ribbon-cutting event in honor of Hana and her slain classmates is representative of Oxford. Violence is not, she said.
“Right here, what you see, is Oxford,” Terry said. “This is what it’s all about.”
ckthompson@detroitnews.com
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