STORRS, Connecticut — A victim of the Parkland School Shooting, who dreamed of attending the University of Connecticut, was posthumously inducted into the fraternity his father belonged to.
Alex Schachter died in the 2018 shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. UConn was his #1 choice for college, and he would have been a freshman in Storrs this fall.
On Monday, the UConn Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi, posthumously initiated Alex into AEPi to keep his memory alive and in recognition of the work being carried out by the charity formed in his name, Safe Schools For Alex.
"In our history, this is the second posthumous initiation we've done in 110 years so this is quite special," Andrew Borans, executive director emeritus of AEPi said.
Alex's father, Max Schachter, was there to see it happen.
"I'm just filled with a lot of mixed emotions. I'm so grateful for what AEPi has done, but it's really sad,: he said. "Alex should be here today, he should be initiated as a brother."
He's made it his mission to make sure that what happened to his son, never happens again by creating the nonprofit Safe Schools For Alex. It provides the most current school safety best practices and resources to students, parents, school districts and law enforcement so that all children can learn in a safe environment.
The members of AEPi at UConn raise money for the organization each year, participating in "No Shave for Schachter" November.
"For all the month of November, we grow out our beards and raise money through social media, we did an in-person protest of razors this year, and we're doing a polar plunge, all types of stuff like that," Jack Tubridy, philanthropy chair of AEPi UConn told FOX61.
"They're such a bunch of great guys and I know that Alex would be here with them. He would be having a great time in college this year, and Alex should be here," Schachter added.
Alex's mother Debbie Schachter was a UConn graduate.
Alex was posthumously admitted into UConn a week after he died. He had wanted to play in the UConn Marching Band. The band set up a scholarship in his name and honored him in a half-time show.
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Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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