100 join to honor life of student

By Yael Kohen
For the Daily

Members of the University community gathered on the Diag for a vigil last night to commemorate the life of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who died Monday after being severely beaten. Law enforcement officials suspect Shepard was targeted because of his sexual orientation.

About 100 people crowded near the Hatcher Graduate Library to attend the candlelight vigil organized by the Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Affairs.

People of all sexual orientations, races and ages spoke at and attended the vigil.

ANDI MAIO/Daily Members of the University community gather on the Diag yesterday for a vigil to commemorate the life of Matthew Shepard, the gay University of Wyoming student who died Monday after being severely beaten.

"We had a good group, a lot of diversity - not just a uniform person," said LSA sophomore Christy Robinson, organizer of the event.

Shepard's death after a four-day struggle in the hospital impacted the University community, vigil speakers said.

"This is a really difficult time for us all ... for all of us decent people," LGBTO Director Frederic Dennis said.

Dennis said he felt this crime on a personal level.

"I started to think about my own students here at Michigan," Dennis said. "I started to put their faces there. It really could've been any one of us."

Robinson said she hopes the vigil showed students they are safe to stand up for themselves without fearing hate crimes.

"I hope that people will be able to take it to heart ... about being themselves," Robinson said. "And regardless of who they are, everybody is different, and we should celebrate those differences because that's what makes us who we are."

Maureen Hartford, vice president for student affairs and a speaker at the event, looked out to the crowd and said "We will show the world we care and will not tolerate behavior like this in our world."

Just by attending, participants made a statement against hate crimes, Hartford said.

Speakers stressed that the crime was not committed just against homosexuals.

"This is hate towards everyone," said Fran Mayes, the minister of the Tree of Life Metropolitan Community Church.

The LGBTO plans to distribute ribbons University students can wear in Shepard's honor. The ribbons will be green, symbolizing serenity, and yellow, representing light and life.

As part of the National Coming Out Week events, the LGBT rally scheduled for tomorrow at noon will be dedicated to the memory of Shepard.

John Vasquez, office manager of the LGBT office, said "there's going to be a lot more people showing up" to the rally as a result of Shepard's death.

Dennis said he hopes this tragic event will have some positive outcomes.

"It is my hope that if anything good can come out of this, it will be that more people will see the importance of standing up for who they are and just for standing up for human rights," Dennis said.

10-15-98