Santorum Speech to be Live-Streamed by South TV Production Students

Grosse Pointe Public School district officials have responded to requests lodged last week to the school board by students and parents to open the upcoming speech by Rick Santorum at Grosse Pointe South High School. 

The speech, which is being held during the school day, is not going to be open to the public. It is open to Grosse Pointe South students and staff who wish to attend. Students must have an opt-in permission slip.

However, the district has arranged for Santorum to be available for an informal reception that is open to the public after school from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in Grosse Pointe South's gymnasium.

Additionally, South's television production students will record Santorum's speech that is happening during the school day and live-stream it. Both decisions were announced Monday afternoon in a press release.

Santorum changed his travel plans to accomodate the after school reception, according to the press release. Tickets are not required for the after school event. An evening event, according to the press release, was not an option for Santorum.

The response by school district officials is one in a series of actions that have been taken related to Santorum's visit. It began with the sudden cancellation of the speech altogether April 9 after questions arose related to whether the content of the speech would remain leadership and service or stray to more political hot-button topics. 

Then for parents to sign permission slips if they wished for their child to attend the assembly. 

Santorum's visit is the result of . The organization contacted the national organization seeking Santorum to speak.

Assembly Plan Includes Q & A

The assembly will begin with Santorum's speech Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. on leadership and service. It will be followed by a question and answer session in which Santorum will answer questions submitted to district officials by students. 

The questions must be submitted to the Grosse Pointe South main office by the end of the school day Tuesday. A formated sheet for questions is available in the main office, according to a letter to parents.

Additionally, the district has been compiling the opt-in permission slips already submitted and as of Friday afternoon, more than half of South's student body planned to attend.

The permission slips will be accepted all the way up to the start of the assembly and only those students have submitted the forms will be given a ticket, according to the parent letter. 

The live-streaming, which is intended to provide access to the public without having them in the building, will not be played in the classrooms. For those students who are not planning to attend the school day is expected to continue as any other day. Teachers will not be giving tests the day of the assembly. 

Public Welcome at After-School Reception

The public is welcome at the after-school reception slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. but district officials ask that parents and others not arrive to the school before 3:15 p.m.

Students will be dismissed from the parking lots at 3:05 p.m. and having the public arrive after 3:15 p.m. will avoid traffic gridlock. Additionally, parents or other community members will not be given access to the building or the parking lot while students are still present.

Those wishing to attend must enter the gymnasium through the doors accessible from the parking lot off Grosse Pointe Boulevard. The other building doors will be locked.   

District officials have met with Grosse Pointe Farms Department of Public Safety officials to establish a security plan. 

The press release and parent letter are both attached to this story in the photo area.

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