UConn Marching Band Pays Tribute to Parkland Shooting Victim

It has been months since the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, but the 17 victims have not been forgotten. On Thursday the University of Connecticut (UConn) marching band honored one of the victims, Alex Schachter, during a halftime performance.

Schachter, 14, was a lifelong fan of UConn. He had aspired to follow in the footsteps of his family members and play the trombone for UConn in the marching band.

The UConn marching band tributed Schachter during halftime of the season opener against No. 23 UCF. The band played his favorite song, “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago, leaving a trombone spot open in his honor.

As the band continued to perform, they eventually changed formation to spell Alex’s name across the field.

Schachter’s father, Max Schachter, said that it was “indescribable.”

“After February 14, I was in the worst place. I hated life. I hated the world. I wanted to die,” Max Schachter said. “And a week later, to get the letter from UConn saying they were going to admit Alex to the school that he always wanted to go to, the school that his mother went to, the school that his brother went to, the school that he came to in the summers and dreamed about being in the band and meeting his idol, Ray Allen. It was incredible.”

“It made me have faith in society again.”

According to the UConn blog, Schacter was posthumously accepted shortly after the shooting, and Schachter’s family has started a band scholarship in his name.