Shepard memorialized at campus vigil

By Phil Cobb | October 13, 2015 |

ALANNA WOLF Staff Writer
Faculty members and students at Northwest Missouri State University gathered at the Memorial Bell Tower Monday for a candlelight vigil in memory of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was beaten to death in 1998 in Wyoming. The motive for the murder was believed by many to have been Shepard’s sexuality, and the killing eventually led to the broadening of federal hate crime laws.

A small group of Northwest Missouri State University students and faculty members gathered at the Memorial Bell Tower on Monday night for a candlelight vigil in memory of Matthew Shepard on the 17th anniversary of the Wyoming college student’s death.

The vigil was organized by Common Ground, a campus gay-straight alliance group with the stated goal of promoting acceptance, equality, and tolerance with regard to sexuality.

Shepard was an openly gay 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming. On Oct. 6 1998, he was robbed, beaten, and tortured by two men who left him to die tied to a fence in a remote area.

A passerby found Shepard the next day, over 18 hours after the attack. He was rushed to a hospital, but died five days later.

The tragedy garnered national media attention, and many believe the attack on Shepard was motivated by his sexual orientation. Public outrage eventually led to an expansion of federal hate crime laws.

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act, which defines as hate crimes offenses motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

“We hold the vigil not only to remember Matthew, but all of the countless and nameless victims of (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) hate crimes and discrimination,” said Common Ground President Korbin Jones, a Northwest student.

“It’s important to remember how far we have come and how far we have to go,” Jones said. “Some people don’t realize that equality has had to be paid for in suffering, tears, and blood, so it is important that we honor those individuals who have done so.”