[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 8, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H1069-H1071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING OXFORD MICHIGAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin) is 
recognized for 30 minutes.
  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the community of 
Oxford Michigan located in my district in Oakland County.
  As everyone knows, last year on November 30, Oxford suffered the 
worst sort of tragedy when a student at the town's high school brought 
a gun to school and used it to shoot a teacher and 10 fellow students.
  The community lost four beautiful, kind, talented and beloved young 
people that day: Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling, and Hana 
St. Juliana. I had the honor of attending the funerals for Justin and 
Hana and the visitation for Madisyn, and witnessing the outpouring of 
love for them from hundreds and hundreds in their community was 
inspiring.
  The United States, unfortunately, has seen many of these shooting in 
the past 25 years but nothing prepares a community for being the one 
where it happens. In Oxford, the wounded from that terrible day extends 
far beyond the teacher and six students who were shot. The entire 
community has suffered a devastating and life-changing trauma.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about what that means and what I hope we 
will do to support the people of Oxford and its neighboring communities 
in the months and years ahead, because it will take years to heal.
  First, I want to share with you some of the stories from Oxford from 
the last 2 months. In the aftermath of the shooting, the community was 
determined to be ``Oxford Strong.'' The people I have met and sat with 
and listened to in the past couple of months have made it clear that 
``Oxford Strong'' isn't just a catchphrase.
  Strong, in Oxford, is about compassion, about caring about asking for 
help when you need it, and finding a way to help your neighbors even if 
it comes at a real cost to yourself.
  To our local small businesses, which, in the days after the shooting, 
went to great lengths and great expense to provide families with 
support and a safe haven. It started with the local Meijer, which 
closed the day of the shooting to provide a gathering place for 
students fleeing the building. Meijer had partnered with Oxford schools 
to be part of their emergency evacuation plan so students knew exactly 
where to go when the building became unsafe.
  By the next day, Sick Pizza had offered to donate 100 percent of 
their proceeds from pizza sales over several days to victims' families. 
Owner Scott Taylor hoped to raise about $25,000. Instead, his 
restaurant raised four times that amount.
  Oxford Bank sprang into action offering to collect donations for the 
victims so that the community would have a

[[Page H1070]]

trusted, central location to direct its generosity. To date, more than 
$1.6 million has poured in and the bank has enlisted the National 
Compassion Fund to ensure it is distributed thoughtfully, fairly, and 
transparently.
  And though I am only scratching the surface of the local business 
community's generosity, I would be remiss not to mention Legacy Center 
and its many tenant businesses which offered services entirely for free 
for several days and became a community gathering spot for grieving 
teens throughout December.
  As recently as a couple of weeks ago, the Legacy Center provided a 
space for my staff and I to meet with a group of Oxford parents and 
educators for a listening session. They continue to be true partners to 
people of Oxford.
  For the remarkable contributions made by our local small businesses 
in the wake of this tragedy, I read the statement into the people's 
House so that it may be remembered in perpetuity.

  To our elected local leaders, we find out what people are made of in 
difficult times. Local Oxford Village President Joe Madore, Oxford 
Township President Jack Curtis, and Orion Township Supervisor Chris 
Barnett, you responded immediately to the crisis facing your community 
working tireless in the shooting's aftermath to provide anything and 
everything you could, from meals for students returning to school 
because all the stored food had perished, to clear backpacks to enhance 
security.
  Jack Curtis opened the township doors to me personally, giving me 
space to conduct a virtual townhall meeting. Your helpers were too many 
to count, but their actions in those initial days will never be 
forgotten.
  For the remarkable contributions made by our local leaders in the 
wake of this tragedy I read the statement into the people's House so 
that it may be remembered in perpetuity.
  To the first responders, though the story of the Oxford shooting is, 
of course, a horrific one, one part of the story has brought many 
families and the larger community comfort, and that was your incredible 
actions on that day. More than 30 agencies responded to the school that 
day from all levels of government, many arriving little more than 
moments after the 911 calls began. You were incredibly brave, and your 
expertly coordinated effort, we know, undoubtedly saved lives.
  During the time I spent in Oxford, I have had the honor of meeting 
with many of you, starting with Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard 
and Deputy Sheriff Mike McCabe, who just retired. I also met Oxford 
Police Chief Mike Solwold who started his career as a school liaison 
officer in Oxford and who worked literally nonstop in the shooting's 
aftermath; and Oxford Fire Chief Peter Scholz and Lieutenant Mike 
Majestic who, despite the grief of witnessing the death of young people 
whom they had known for years, kept showing up to serve their beloved 
community, including working as valuable partners at emergency 
management planning meetings every week to address public safety, 
mental health, funding, and other needs for the schools and surrounding 
communities.
  I spoke with Lake Orion Police Chief Harold Rossman and Lieutenant 
Todd Stanfield who helped secure the building and who tried desperately 
to save one of the victims, and who spoke eloquently of the impact 
limited mental health services have on the community. And I met with 
Orion Township Fire Rescue Department led by Chief Robert Duke who also 
responded to the scene and who, like many of their colleagues, pressed 
on in the days after in the face of their own grief with little 
respite.
  At the funeral for Hana St. Juliana I sat with Lieutenant Gregory 
Glover and Detective Sergeant Richard Hubble, both of the Oakland 
County Sheriff's Office, whose mere presence was a comfort to me 
personally and to so many others on that incredibly sad night.
  I had the chance to see them again during a recent visit to town. 
Both men were among the first to enter the building along with Deputy 
John MacDonald, who put Tate Myre in his vehicle in a heroic effort to 
save him.
  Down the street from the sheriff's substation is the Brandon Township 
Fire Department which I visited at the invitation of Lieutenant Doug 
Brice. He and his fellow firefighters entered the building directly 
behind law enforcement and did everything they could to aid the 
wounded.
  All of these men, like so many others on that day, stayed focused and 
calm in the face of real terror, and by doing so not only saved lives 
but provided comfort to terrified students who, no doubt, will forever 
view first responders differently, having been so well protected and 
shepherded to safety when they needed it most.
  For the remarkable bravery displayed by our first responders in the 
wake of this tragedy, I read the statement into the people's House so 
that it may be remembered in perpetuity.
  To the parents and students of Oxford, I want to recognize you most 
of all. I have met with many of you in recent weeks, sometimes in 
hours-long sessions, to hear how you are doing and what you need most. 
And it is clear what you need from the rest of us is to listen. I have 
heard from parents whose children are worried they will fall behind in 
school if they don't attend, but who find going to class in the same 
building where they fled bullets and friends were hurt or killed just a 
few weeks ago to be hard to tolerate.
  I have heard from students who now wince at loud sounds and get 
overwhelmed by crowds, who are worried about their friends and 
themselves and who feel overlooked. Many have told me they badly want 
to get the mental health support that they need but their parents can't 
afford a therapist and they are tired of telling and retelling their 
story of the crisis.
  The fact is, everyone in Oxford has post-traumatic stress. Everyone. 
There is no escaping the impact of this immense and overwhelming 
tragedy. But I want you to know that post-traumatic stress does not 
have to become post-traumatic stress disorder. With proper support, 
traumatized people can recover. You may never be exactly the same as 
you once were, but you can discover new reserves of strength and 
renewed appreciation for life and for your loved ones.
  Psychologists have a term for this. It is called post-traumatic 
stress growth. It is a theory that holds that people who endure intense 
trauma can see positive growth come from their desperate struggle.
  But that doesn't happen overnight, and it doesn't happen without a 
lot of hard work and help. The people of Oxford, though incredibly 
resilient in the face of staggering loss, need our support. ``Oxford 
Strong'' does not mean Oxford can or should do it alone. I have heard 
from teachers who tell me they can't possibly provide the mental health 
support that some of their students need.
  Schools have precious few social workers on staff and troubled 
students have effectively nowhere to go in a State with fewer than 300 
psychiatric beds in the entire State, all of which have long waiting 
lists. So kids with serious emotional and behavioral issues often must 
stay in class with little support, causing challenges for their peers 
and unable to get the intervention they so badly need.

  I have heard from nearly everyone that we need to make sure at the 
very least that we keep guns out of the hands of our kids. The shooting 
at Oxford High School made it very clear that we have a serious, 
systemic problem to solve. But in the meantime, the least we can do is 
ensure that kids don't have access to guns. I am not talking about 
families who teach their kids how to hunt, which in Michigan is very 
common. I grew up in a gun-owning household. I am talking about leaving 
a deadly weapon unsecured. We must do everything we can to keep our 
kids safe, and that is one easy and crucial step we can take.
  I wasn't able to be in Oxford last Friday night. The Michigan High 
School Athletic Association organized an Oxford Strong night and across 
the State. Teams playing their Friday night games showed their support 
and love for the people of Oxford. The MHSAA raised $200,000 for the 
victims and their families with its effort. That kind of ongoing love 
and support is so heartening to see. I am standing here today asking 
all of us to continue to hold Oxford in our hearts, and to do the hard 
work necessary to ensure its people get the resources they need to 
recover, and to ensure no other community suffers such a needless and 
devastating event.

[[Page H1071]]

  It is the honor of my life to represent the people of Oxford in the 
U.S. House of Representatives and to be able to speak their stories of 
resilience into the permanent record of the people's House.
  In the face of unimaginable adversity, you have shown us a path 
forward on the road to recovery.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________