On Campus

Matthew Shepard memorial dedicated at U. of Wyoming

From The Associated Press: About 100 people have attended a ceremony at the University of Wyoming dedicating a memorial bench in honor of a gay student who was murdered nearly 10 years ago.

Matthew Shepard died Oct. 12, 1998, five days after he was found brutally beaten and tied to a fence outside Laramie. The two men who killed him are serving life sentences in prison.

The crime triggered nationwide sympathy and revulsion and brought a re-examination of attitudes toward gays. Shepard’s parents established a foundation to fight hate and promote diversity and both spoke at the short ceremony on Saturday. Judy Shepard says the nation has grown a lot in the last 10 years in accepting the gay community.

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