On Thursday, March 15, Abington High School held a voluntary walkout for remembering the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Many AHS students opted instead to go to the auditorium to watch a 17-minute clip of a young boy, Virgil “VJ” Smith from Texas, who saved 17 lives during Hurricane Harvey. This video was played during the time that other students participated in the walkout to the Abington Town Hall.

A student, Colleen Dever (‘20), who was in the auditorium to watch the video, said that the video “was really interesting. I didn’t even know the kid and I was so proud of him. To be honest, it made me really happy. I was sitting there smiling the whole time.”

Another student who went to the auditorium, Jalen Corcione (’18), decided to walk up to new people on Thursday. He said, “Today [March 15] is national Walk Up Day.” When asked how many people he walked up to, he said “Forty five. I’ve been keeping track. I got a little carried away.”

The walkout and video show how people can make a difference. Students from Abington High School, like Corcoine, are coming together to help and support Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.