A Texas school district has reversed its decision to deny a grieving family a yearbook memorial page for their daughter, who killed herself last week.
Hannah Rose Hollis, a 17-year-old senior at Pearland High School, had recently celebrated her acceptance into Texas A&M University, where she would follow in her older sisters’ footsteps in the fall. The celebration turned to heartbreak for her family and friends on March 19, when Hollis committed suicide.
"If she would've just known how much we loved her, she would've known it was a mistake," Hannah's sister, Holleigh Hollis, told KPRC 2 News in Houston.
Hannah Hollis’ death prompted students, friends and family to request a memorial page for her in Pearland High’s yearbook. The request was denied, students said.
The Hollis family told the news station the denial was based on the way Hannah Hollis died.
"This administration tells us that they won't make this page because they think that if children see it, then it will urge them to do the same thing," Holleigh Hollis said. "I completely disagree with that."
The denial prompted a student to create a Change.org petition, urging school administrators to change their minds.
"I did not personally know Hannah, but as someone who struggled with demons of their own, I am horrified that we cannot honor one of our own because of how this beautiful soul passed," creator Ericka Chang-Kalandros wrote in the petition.
Chang-Kalandros wrote that while Hollis’ death was a tragedy, her life was a blessing. The yearbook staff sought to “honor her beautiful life rather than romanticize her death.”
"The stigmas surrounding mental illness have never been more prevalent in our school than right now," Chang-Kalandros wrote. "Because of these stigmas, we cannot honor our fellow classmate, athlete, and, most of all, friend. Not only will this page allow her friends and family to see that we are united as a student body behind them through these difficult times, it will also bring awareness to those who suffer in silence as Hannah did."
More than 6,000 people signed the petition. Many of them gave written reasons for signing.
“I’m signing, because no one deserves to go through what she went through alone,” Hannah Armstrong, of Pearland, wrote. “The school needs to show that they will help and support anyone who needs it.”
“I’m signing, because, no matter the circumstances, this is a life gone too early,” wrote Diane Perthuis, of Houston. “She died of something that affects too many of our youth.”
“Mental illness is a disease like any other, and millions suffer in silence because of the stigma it brings,” wrote Sharon Shotwell, of Pearland. “She should be in the yearbook and honored like anyone else.”
The school decided, in the aftermath of the petition and after meeting with Hollis' family, to allow the memorial page. A Pearland ISD school board member, Charles Gooden Jr., wrote on his Facebook page that the district's plan all along was to determine the wishes of the Hollis family before moving forward with any memorial.
"Students were not told 'no' to their request to remember Hannah in the yearbook. They were asked to wait to determine the wishes of the family," Gooden wrote. "Having dealt with the loss of my brother when he was 17, I see that as a totally reasonable request. We are just dealing with a misunderstanding.
“We have now learned that the Hollis family has expressed support for a memorial page in the yearbook,” he wrote.
School administrators also released a statement on Wednesday, addressing the issue.
“From the beginning, Pearland High School's and Pearland ISD's intention was and has been to allow the Hollis family time to grieve. We have now had an opportunity to visit with the family to discuss how to best honor Hannah. PHS will have a remembrance page in the yearbook for any Oiler they have lost, and this will include Hannah. We will continue to provide support for all students, and have Hannah's friends and family in our thoughts and prayers.”
Hollis' obituary describes her as "one of the brightest, most talented and lovely young women anyone could have ever known." Her family wrote that she fell in love with television cooking shows at the age of 3 and, as soon as she could read, "always had her nose in a cookbook."
Her gifts went far beyond the kitchen, her family wrote, and when she was older, she worked as a summer camp counselor, caring for the youngest campers.
"Hannah was generous with both her time and her heart, always putting others' feelings before hers," the obituary read.
She was a gifted student and member of the school’s varsity golf team who also worked as a lifeguard. Having earned full acceptance to Texas A&M, she planned to become an anesthesiologist, according to her obituary.
"Truly extraordinary, blessed with so many gifts, Hannah was the most amazing young woman and to know her was to know a truly beautiful soul," the obituary read. "She will be loved and missed forever."
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