Daniel Stauber was a junior in high school when he died in the arms of his mother in February 3rd of 2020. No cause of death was ever determined, but we have suspicions of a genetic heart condition. There was nothing we could have done. 

He was buried, and given a memorial by the Boy Scouts in our town. But the school he attended, Bedford High School, refused to put a memorial of him on school grounds. When talking to our mother, the Dean of Student Services and head of the school's counseling department, Lisa Jacques, said the memorial would not be maintained, and could possibly motivate other students so suicide.

Our family held a fundraiser, Dash For Dan, which the school donated nothing to.  The over $10,000 total donations would be put toward autistic seniors in funding their college experience. The same year, the town voted to put $793,000 into athletic infrastructure. 

Recently, the topic of the yearbook has come up, and my family has asked the school to put a memorial in for Dan. We were told it was against policy, and we would have to pay $500 to put in an advertisement. We were never provided this policy. 

We want Dan to be memorialized by the Bedford High School. We should not have to fight with them in order to give him a memorial. He was only 16, and was an integral part of Bedford's community. He was active in multiple clubs at the school, a stellar student, and beloved by those around him. The fact we have to fight to even have a picture of him in a yearbook is unbelievable, and the way the Dean of Student Services told his mother that a memorial to her dead child would cause other children to die is appalling. The Bedford High School has done the absolute bare minimum in regards to helping my family through this tough time, and it needs to be addressed. 

This petition will help raise attention to the issue this school has caused, and show that people do care about Dan. That his memory will live on, his memorials cared for, and his family shown the love this school has yet to give them back.

Dan died loving the opportunities this school gave him, the friends he made, the people he was able to meet, and the things he was able to the learn. And this school has turned its back on him.