Shepard speaks about hate crimes

Almost 30 students traveled from IU to Purdue to hear the message of Judy Shepard, the mother of the gay University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998.\nShepard spoke about her personal experiences and the prevention of hate crimes in front of about 1,200 people Wednesday night.\nThe evening began with a vigil to remember victims of hate crimes on the Union lawn at Purdue, then moved into the St. Thomas Aquinas Center for the speech.\nThe center was filled to capacity, and the basement was used as a satellite site for more people, said Sara Solloway, director of programming at the Purdue Memorial Union.\n"Her message was very impacting," Solloway said. "She told her personal story, and it was very moving. There were very many tears."\nSenior Gabino Zapata, a CommUNITY Educator, led the group that traveled from IU.\n"It was a remarkable emotional experience," Zapata said. "The main points of her speech were why she believes hate exists and ways we can combat hate -- even in the smallest things we do. She also spoke of her decision to create the Matthew Shepard Foundation … One of her consistent themes was that 'Hate is not just a gay thing or a race thing'... it affects all realms of life."\nZapata said it was one of the toughest stories he has had to sit through.\n"She actually re-read her victim's impact statement that she read at the sentencing hearing for one of the killers," he said. "She read it word for word, and it seemed like everyone in the church broke down."\nDespite the emotion Shepard inspired, she cried only twice during her speech, senior Chad Davis said.\nShepard spoke for about one hour, followed by a 40-minute question and answer session with the audience.\n"Although Matthew was physically alone when he was left tied to the fence, he had company: he had the beautiful night sky, the daylight and the sun, the wind and the smell of the Earth," she said, ending her speech. "He also had God. I feel better knowing he wasn't alone." \nA diverse group of people attended the lecture, Solloway said. Many were there from the nearby community, including the mayor.\nThe group from IU was also diverse, Davis said. \n"You had undergrads and grads, male and female, gay and straight, people doing it for class," he said.\nThe group was composed of students who traveled to Purdue on a Star of Indiana bus.\n"From the second we boarded the bus it was a great experience," Davis said. "It was positive energy from the beginning … Gabino headed this trip up and he was educational the entire time, trying to get us talking."\nZapata said people were willing to talk about the way Shepard's speech impacted them. \n"The most remarkable point of the trip was on the ride home," he said. "We had a PA system in the front of (the) coach, and one by one students came forward and shared their thoughts and feelings on any portion of the trip. You can't imagine the mixture of feelings, emotions and sharing that went on"