Uconn fraternity inducts Parkland shooting victim
Alpha Epsilon Pi raising money for nonprofit started in Alex Schachter’s memory
A fraternity at Uconn has posthumously inducted one of the 17 people killed in the 2018 shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
His father Max Schachter stood in for his son during a special ceremony hosted by Alpha Epsilon Phi Monday night.
Alex Schachter had planned to go to Uconn and play trombone in the marching band. After his death, he was admitted to the school and made an honorary member of the band.
Alex’s mother, Debbie Goldberg Schachter, went to Uconn; his father attended a different college but was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi. Alex’s grandfather was also a member of the fraternity.
“Over the course of our 108-year history, this is only the second time we have initiated someone posthumously, so we feel extremely honored as a chapter to be a part of this historical event,’’ said Michael Cotton, president of the fraternity’s Uconn chapter.
Cotton, a junior from Newtown, said Max Schachter shared some memories about his son, including that he idolized former Uconn basketball great Ray Allen and made a habit of wearing his Uconn sweatshirt.
“Max jokingly mentioned that he feared people would think that he doesn’t buy Alex new clothes because he would only wear his
“This is a mixture of happiness and sadness at the same time for me. I miss Alex every day and I know he would have had a great time going to Uconn, being in their marching band and being in a fraternity.”
— Max Schachter, father of Alex Schachter and founder and CEO of Safe Schools for Alex
favorite Uconn hoodie all the time,’’ Cotton said.
The fraternity is raising money for a nonprofit organization the Schachter family started in Alex’s memory, Safe Schools for Alex. The fraternity also started “No Shave for Schachter,” in which members are taking donations to grow facial hair.
“This is a mixture of happiness and sadness at the same time for me,” Max Schachter said. “I miss Alex every day and I know he would have had a great time going to Uconn, being in their marching band and being in a fraternity.”
Founded in 1913 at New York University, Alpha Epsilon Pi is an international Jewish fraternity dedicated to leadership and service.
“We are proud of our Brothers at Uconn AEPI, proud of Brother @maxschachter for his passion and advocacy, proud of our new Brother Alex Schachter for the light he has provided our chapters and communities and, as always, we are #proudtobeapi,’’ the fraternity tweeted Tuesday.
Alex was 14 when he was killed; he would have been a college freshman this year.
Shortly after the shooting, Alex’s family endowed a scholarship at Uconn in his name. “After this horrible tragedy, we just wanted to try to have something good come of this,” Max Schachter said in a statement released by Uconn at the time. “We’re hoping that it will keep Alex’s memory alive for years and years to come.”
The members of the fraternity were inspired by Max Schachter’s response to the tragedy, Cotton said.
“It is mightily impressive how Max and the Schachter family are able to persist through their hardship and create good in this world,” Cotton said. “He has inspired our chapter to continue to give back and spread positivity in our community, as we have learned how impactful we can be working together as a group.”
Alex was also inducted as a full member of Uconn’s marching and pep bands, which honored him by leaving a seat empty in the trombone section and making a pin with his name on it that they wore to events.