Over 400 students from Oxford High School will walk down commencement ceremonies tomorrow night (Thursday) at Pine Knob Theater in Clarkston. The ceremony starts at 7 p.m. At the May 9 Oxford School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Vickie Markavitch announced graduates will all be given a new honor cord.

“We are hearing the desire from our seniors for a symbol they may wear acknowledging the incomparable challenges they have had to face in their journey to achieve their high school diploma,” she said, adding the cords will be blue and gold in color.

In a community statement dated the same day as the school board meeting she wrote, “We fully and genuinely recognize and want to pay tribute to the unbelievable strength and fortitude it has taken for each of our seniors to get to this day. With that, Oxford High School has added a specially designed navy and gold Wildcat honor cord to its graduation wear. The Wildcat honor cord will symbolize the resilience and strength these students have had to find within themselves, forging ahead to complete their graduation requirements while healing from the trauma and after-effects of the November 30, 2021 tragedy.”

The Wildcat honor cord will be given to this year’s OHS graduates as well as future 2024 and 2025 graduates to wear at their respective commencements. These cords will be handed out to seniors at graduation rehearsal. In addition, as this honor cord was not in place last year, it will be available to graduates of 2022 upon request in the front office of OHS after May 19.