Barrington senior to be remembered with silence

Even as the Barrington High School community continues to mourn the leukemia-related death of senior Martin Garcia, his passing will not be singled out for specific mention at the June 3 graduation ceremony due to a relatively new school district policy.

Rather, all students, staff and family members who have passed away during the school year will be jointly remembered in a general moment of silence early in the ceremony, Barrington Unit District 220 spokesman Jeff Arnett said.

The reason for the new policy was the multiple suicides that plagued the high school for a few years in a row, he added.

When these students’ names were mentioned early in the ceremony or during the distribution of diplomas, they received standing ovations which drew undue attention to the manner of their deaths, Arnett said. Mental health experts testified that this kind of attention had the potential to inspire copycats.

And so the new policy was approved which covers all deaths.

Garcia’s family has received his diploma. It was displayed at his memorial service in which Garcia was dressed in a cap and gown.

“That was such a dream of his,” Arnett said. “He only wanted to live long enough to participate in the graduation ceremony.”

The 17-year-old died May 7, four weeks shy of the end of the school year and one year after he was first diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, or AML.