Viral Video Could Give Bethesda Students the Homecoming of a Lifetime

The video flashes messages of hope, acceptance and school spirit.

Walt Whitman High School students in Bethesda hope the positive messages resonate enough to win them the homecoming of a lifetime.

Their student run and produced video has been entered into the Katy Perry ‘Roar’ contest, which asked high schools across America to submit videos to Good Morning America to the tune of Perry’s hit song “Roar.”

As of Tuesday, the video has netted 65,633 views on YouTube. It was released Oct. 1.

Good Morning America will announce the winner on Friday Oct. 18. The winning school will get a concert from Katy Perry on Oct. 25, which is her birthday.

It is also the date of the homecoming game for Walt Whitman High School.

The two-minute video was filmed in just seven days, and includes participation from nearly all of the school’s approximately 2,000 students, according to the Washington Times.

Students, staff and members of the Walt Whitman High School hold signs supporting gay and lesbian students, student athletes, musicians and more.

And, at one point in the video, smiling men, women and teens hold up signs saying, “I Beat Cancer.”

The video’s messages of beating cancer are meant to highlight the school’s success in raising $91,000 last year for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, according to a post by Julia Medine on Bethesda-Chevy Chase Patch.

The film was directed by Whitman junior Sam Dodd, who told the Times: “With the amount of SATs, ACTs, studying, tests, I think it was really good to get our spirit back. To roar. To come together and make something amazing out of it.”

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