Hampton parents want son included in what would have been his graduation yearbook
CBC
WARNING: This story contains details about suicide.
From kindergarten until the end of Grade 9, Carson Hoyt was part of the future class of 2024 at Hampton High School.
But Carson died by suicide when he was 15. He will not graduate with his former classmates at the southern New Brunswick school.
His parents don't want him forgotten by them either. That's why they want him included in this year's yearbook.
Amy and Greg Hoyt said Carson's friends were important to him. Last Sunday, on what would have been his 18th birthday, many of them gathered with his family to commemorate the occasion.
Amy has tried to stay involved with the class of '24. In January, she emailed the school principal and offered to help with graduation activities.
"I would love to help decorate for prom, chaperone for Safe Grad or help with the breakfast the next morning," she wrote. "I would love nothing more than to help out and make this difficult week easier for us. Sitting on the sidelines and watching things happen has been very hard for myself and my husband."
Hoyt also asked about including Carson in the yearbook — something she believed would be automatic.
She was shocked to get resistance but kept pressing.
According to emails provided by the Hoyts, the school notified the district of the request, and the district decided against a memorial of any sort. Then it told her to stop contacting the school.
On Jan. 22, Allan Davis, the director of schools for the Anglophone South School District, wrote to the Hoyts.
"While I am sure this is a difficult time for you and your family knowing that this is Carson's graduating class, please understand that the focus of graduation activities is to celebrate the achievements of the graduates," he wrote in an email.
The Hoyts couldn't understand the district's position. After all, they've seen other memorials for students who died by suicide, including one several years ago at Hampton High School.
And in neighbouring Anglophone West, there's a more recent example.
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