Shepard, a soft-spoken and endearing Midwestern woman, wasted no time in connecting with the audience and making her purpose known. "I'm not a professional speaker, I'm a mother with opinions ... A mother with a story." The audience was demonstrably moved by her story as Shepard read part of her victim impact statement from convicted killer Russel Henderson's sentencing. The statement, rife with stories from her son's childhood, presented the human side of Matthew Shepard and his legacy.
"He knew that judging people was a loss of opportunity … and he never understood people who didn't feel this way," said Shepard. "I love and miss him more than I can express ... He was a soulmate."
Shepard then moved on to what she would dedicate the bulk of her speech to-a discussion of hate crime legislation. "Education, to me, is the most important part of hate crime legislation," she said. Shepard highlighted factors of hate crimes such as ignorance and fear, and in the spirit of education, discussed exactly what the average person could do to prevent hate crimes on an individual level. "You as an individual are the most important thing in this fight," Shepard told listeners.
Being an active (or simply identified) member of the GLBT community in collegiate and urban circles entails facing animosity and risks; sometimes what is most needed is a sense of security. "In the Midwest and rural areas, people are struggling to be safe," Shepard said.
Shepard called for a normalization of the "lifestyle" that inspires so much ignorance and fear in the United States. "[We should] come out and stay out all day and every day, over and over again," said Shepard. "This is the only way that [being gay] is going to be ordinary."
She also called for political involvement across the board, speaking not only to the importance of voting and protesting for such important issues as gay adoption, workplace equality and gay marriage-but also for the sake of pure involvement and political self-efficacy as well. "We need to be involved in the outside world. Whatever makes your heart sing, you need to be a part of ... It is so important that we be true and honest about who we are," said Shepard.
Student satisfaction with Shepard's message was high. "As an active ally it was very inspiring to hear and meet someone who is so outspoken for the LBGT community," said Ceridwen Cherry '06. "She really encouraged me to continue to stand up for a cause that is at times very difficult and that I know can only truly be successful with the continued outspoken support of allies."
Annie Macrae '04 spoke to the courage of Shepard's ability to discuss the violence that was done to her son. "She is an inspiration for gay students, their friends, their parents and anyone who has ever struggled with issues of sexuality," said Macrae.
Jacqueline Sargent '04 expressed satisfaction with Shepard's lecture as well, but noted that the people who really needed to hear it probably didn't. "I would venture to estimate that almost no one there had any problems with the idea of homosexuality," said Sargent.