A meeting at 9:15 a.m. in the Columbus East Auxiliary Gym brought many students together, and to tears. This meeting was to remember Abbott Garn, a sophomore at Columbus East, who died Saturday night.

Fellow students, teachers and administrators gathered in the gym to remember Garn and to support one another during this difficult time.

Principal Mark Newell began the meeting, discussing how difficult of a time this is for students.

Larry Perkinson, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation’s student assistance coordinator, followed Newell, asking students to recall some of their favorite memories of Garn, or to inform him on the kind of person he was.

Many of Garn’s friends spoke out, leading to some laughter and more tears. A common theme throughout each student was how good of a kid he was; he was perfect.

“He was one hell of a kid,” said sophomore Dusty Anderson, a close friend to Garn.

After the meeting, students came together to comfort one another. While many students hugged and others prayed, it was evident that Columbus East upheld one of the golden rules at this high school: take care of each other.

“It was powerful to me to see students taking care of students,” Newell said. “We are all in this together. The good and the bad.”