A wide cross section of humanity filled the Student Center Theater on a Thursday night to hear the story of Matthew Shepard. Homosexual, heterosexual, students, faculty, guests, and others sat in anticipation while Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother, was stuck in traffic on the Grand Central Parkway. She finally arrived about a half hour late, and when introduced, received a healthy dose of applause.
Many students were already familiar with the story. Riss Wilson, a freshman, was a “techie” during a production of the Laramie Project, a play dedicated to the story of Matthew Shepard. He attended the lecture due to his support of gay rights and gay activism.
Matt Weaver, a junior, and a Resident Assistant in Liberty Hall, went because “The ignorance of people is eye opening, looking at the controversy surrounding marriage.” Roma Ramchandani, a sophomore at Adelphi University was “extremely excited to come” when she heard about the event, “because of [her] familiarity with the story and how remarkably strong Judy is.”
Judy Shepard is an activist against all forms of hate, not just the problem of anti-gay rhetoric and its related hate crimes. Her foundation, named after her late son Matthew, teamed up with the James Byrd Jr. Foundation, to fight against all hate crimes. All proceeds raised by Mrs. Shepard’s speaking engagements go to her foundation, which fights anti-gay legislation as well as raises awareness about the truth of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender lifestyle.
Matthew Shepard was beaten nearly to death in October 1998. He was tied to a prairie, and left for dead. He was brought into a hospital about 18 hours later, and he was placed in critical condition. Matthew’s parents, living in Saudi Arabia at the time, were called, and they rushed back to the states to be by their son’s side. He was pronounced dead at 12:53a.m. on October 12, 1998.
“It’s not just gay and lesbian people [that face hate]. It’s all of us,” Shepard declared during her speech. She then read her impact statement, which she had read during the sentencing portion of the trial of the man who murdered her son. The statement dripped of emotion. Her voice still cracks eight years after the fact when she says, “He was my son, my firstborn, and more…I never [will] understand why anyone would do this.”
Shepard described Matthew’s condition in stark detail. Walking into the room “of no emotion, tubes everywhere, his face swollen, his ear was reattached to his head and was still bleeding…” Initially, Shepard could not even recognize her own son. She shook Matthew’s arms, and he reacted, but doctors told her that the response was involuntary because of the touch.
After Matthew’s story, Shepard began imploring the students, gay and straight, men and women, to register to vote. She railed against the “religious right,” calling them bigots. Her most enthusiastic plea was for the audience to educate themselves, “I happen to think hate comes from ignorance.”
Her request was that all people should be treated as equals, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, and gender orientation. Examples of inequality are all around us, she said. It is everywhere, in the mass media, in our everyday conversation, and in our perceptions. Shepard’s story taught students to root out intolerance where it starts, within their minds.
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