The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 16, 1998, Page Page 2, Image 2
Gay studer
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LARAMIE, Wyo. ? Even as outrage
grows over the fatal beating of
gay student Matthew Shepard, authorities
are wrestling with new hate
messages aimed at homosexual^. One
such missive even applauded his death.
Shepard was found a week ago and
died Monday at a hospital in Fort
Collins, Colo., where police were investigating
both an offensive parade
float and a violently worded e-mail
message sent to two gay groups after
his death. It closed with the words, "I
hope it happens more often."
The message was discovered by
Brenda Hervey, executive
director of the
Rainbow Chorus, a "J wish
choir made up of gay
and heterosexual per- DCKiy C(
formers. Members of us a tm
the Lambda Commu- tlr*r? nf
nity Center received the
same e-mail. conside
Hervey initially hate cri
thought the e-mail was
intended to inform her
of Shepard's death. Alba
"When I clicked to
open the message and
began reading, I was just sickened,"
she said Tuesday.
Shepard was pistol-whipped and
lashed to a fence post outside Laramie
for 18 hours in near-freezing temperatures,
authorities say. The 21-yearold
University of Wyoming student
died after five days in a coma.
Police say robbery was the main
motive, but Shepard's attackers apparently
chose him partly because he
was gay. His assailants apparently
lured him from a campus bar, attacked
him and left him hanging like a scarecrow.
Charges against Russell Arthur
Henderson, 21, and Aaron James McKinney,
21, include first-degree murder,
aggravated robbery and kidnapping
with intent to inflict bodily injury or
terrorize the victim. Prosecutors haven't
said whether they will seek the death
penalty.
The killing has drawn nationwide
attention, including President Clinton's
call for Congress to pass legislation
making it easier for federal
prosecution of hate crimes.
Albany County Sheriffs Lt. Rob
DeBree, the lead investigator in the
case, said he and other local officers
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have no legal guidance on what constitutes
a hate crime.
"I wish somebody could give us a
true definition of what they consider
to be a hate crime," DeBree said.
The push for hate crimes laws
following Shepard's killing is likely to
draw out people with strong anti-gay
feelings, experts say.
"No one will say, 'I hate these people,'
but it serves to confirm homophobic
sentiments (exist)," said Valerie
Jenness, professor of sociology at
University of California, Irvine, and
author of the book "Hate Crimes: New
Social Movements and the Politics of
Violence."
Fort Collins
police were trySOflie
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RoBDeBree
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ty said 11 students
were
scheduled for disciplinary hearings
next week.
Wyoming officials were bracing for
the arrival of members of a Topeka,
Kan., church who plan to carry antigay
pickets at Shepard's funeral in
Casper on Friday.
Gov. Jim Geringer said officials
can't stop the group from Westboro
Baptist from coming but he wants them
to know their presence is not wanted.
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wing nuts coming in," Geringer said.
Gay rights proponents held a news
conference Tuesday to urge legislators
to remove Wyoming from the list of
nine states with no hate-crime law.
"Wyoming has always reflected the e
epitome of the Don't ask, don't tell' at- ^
titude," said Walt Boulden, a friend of
Shepard. "This horrible murder has a
shattered our ability to hide behind s
that type of stance." s
In Baltimore, Kweisi Mfume, pres- c
ident of the National Association for E
the Advancement of Colored People,
renewed his call for Congress to pass 2
the Hate Crime Prevention Act, which j
sets penalties for those who injure oth- p
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USC remerm
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managing editor
SARA LAPENHE1M
A candlelight vigil will be held at
7 p.m. today in the Rutledge Chapel
on the Horseshoe in memory of
Matthew Shepard, the University of
Wyoming student who, after being
beaten last week, died Monday.
"Matthew died a horrible death,
but it was not in vain," said Harriet
Hancock, co-chairwoman of the Columbia
chapter of Parents, Friends
and Families of Gays and Lesbians
(P-FLAG), who is sponsoring the
event along with the Carolina Rainbow
Family coalition (CRFC) and the
South Carolina Gay and Lesbian
Pride Movement (SCGLPM).
Hancock hopes this vigil will help
make people aware that "hate crimes
against gays and lesbians do occur
across the United States," and there
is a definite need for protection under
state legislation.
Such legislation has been proposed
in the S.C. General Assembly
under the 1997 Hate Crimes Legislation.
These bills were proposed but
never voted on.
Peter Teply, a Columbia attorney
and hate crimes legislation lobbyist,
believes the actions of South Carolina
Attorney General Charlie Condon
directly resulted in the proposed legislation
being suppressed.
bnariie uonaon naa supported
a proposed hate crimes bill, through
members of the Assembly, that did
not include crimes against someone
due to gender [or sexuality]," Teply
irs based on race, color, sexual orienation
or national origin.
In Albany, N.Y., a solemn crowd of
ibout 250 people carried candles and
ang songs outside the governor's manion
in a demonstration against hate
rimes Tuesday. New York also has
lo hate crime law for violent acts.
A day earlier, in College Park, Md.,
!00 people rallied at the University of
Maryland to protest a campus newstaper
column condemning homosexlality.
Newspaper editors defended
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said. "Charlie Condon withdrew his
support from the bill after victims of
[sexual- and gender-inspired] hate
crimes testified. He told The State
(March 22,1997 edition) he didn't
want to be linked to 'gay activists'
and 'feminists... [who are using his
effort to focus on racial hatred] to
bring attention to their various grievances
against society.'"
Tom Landis, a representative for
the Attorney General's Office at the
State Office of Public Information,
said Condon "introduced it [hate
crimes legislation] to combat church
burnings. [However], he couldn't lend
his support to the legislation."
Tony Snell, president of SCGLPM,
issued a statement on Monday that
condemns Condon and Gov. David
Beasley because they "refused to endorse
hate crime protections for all
South Carolinians."
Shepard's memorial will feature
several speakers, including the
Rev. Patricia Voelker of the Columbia
Metropolitan Community Church
and Nekki Shutt, a Columbia attorney
who will discuss the need for hate
crimes legislation.
According to an Associated Press
article from Wednesday, the men
charged with attacking Shepard, Russell
Arthur Henderson, 21, and Aaron
James McKinney, 22, had their
charges upgraded to first-degree murJ
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murderers, Chastity Vera Pasley, 20,
and Kristen Leann Price, 18, were
charged as accessories to the crime.
the publication as a matter of free
speech.
And in Sacramento, Calif., vandals
scrawled obscenities on more than
20 chalk sidewalk sketches drawn to
commemorate Gay Pride week at California
State University, Sacramento.
"Free expression is one thing, but
this is hate speech," said Lou Camera,
director of student activities. The
sketches and the obscenities were
erased with a hose.
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~ Safety Comm
portable, per;
senior writer KEVIN LANGSTON
The University Safety Committee
proposed the implementation of a personal
alarm system for students, faculty and
staff at Thursday's committee meeting.
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Conant presented a letter from
Microgistics Incorporated, a company
that specializes in the personal alarm
service.
In the letter, Conant pointed out that
this particular provider offers a state of
the art protection service at no cost to
the university. The service would be
specific to the campus.
Small radio receivers would be
installed at various sites throughout
campus. The letter states the service is
at a "very reasonable price" for students,
faculty and staff.
"What is reasonable is anybody's
guess," Conant said.
The advancement of technology in
the digital cellular phone industry was
also brought to the attention of the
committee members. It will soon be a
requirement for all digital cell phones
to be able to triangulate the position
from where the call is coming.
Conant added that skeptics feel this
is an invasion of privacy, but he stood
behind the advancement.
"I still think it's a good technology,"
Conant said.
The issue was whether to act on this
field of protection or to wait until it was
offered with digital cell phones.
"So there is a question as to how far
we push something that's a separate
vance or a different field as opposed to
waiting on the cell phone technology,"
Conant said '1 have a feeling a cell phone
will be the wave of the future."
"I would think that when this
technology comes in, it would hopefully
be more successful with the cell phone,
___ J i j i- :i_ i ii
1 anu we couiu pusn u, as a saieiy uasis,
Conant said.
In addition to this service, Conant
indicated the obvious advantages of a
cell phone.
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ittee suggests
sonal alarms
"They could use it manually to call
911, or they could push the button,"
Conant said
He addressed the inclination students
would have over using a cell phone as
opposed to an alarm unit, saying it is
"more fashionable, and you can do more
with it."
Conant supported the usefulness of
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call box would be difficult if you were
being attacked."
He stressed that this new technology
would not make the call boxes obsolete.
"They [the call boxes] would still be
helpful for those who didn't have it [the
service]," he said 'It would be for visitors
and other guests, and for those who forgot
it and left it in their rooms. Of course,
these boxes are deterrents as well."
The cost of this program w'as also an
issue for the committee. Conant said
' most companies require an updront cost.
"That is a problem," he said. "It is
becoming more available, so hopefully
it will come down in price...It is more
likely we could get it in here if it is not
going to cost a million or two up front."
The estimated cost for students would
be from $25 to $50 a semester. The
program would act as a subscription,
with the student paying for the service
and a safety call unit.
Conant was not optimistic about
students wanting to pay the estimated
amount for the service.
"This cost added in with books can
seem overwhelming to the student," he
said.
Conant suggested getting the
information to the parents prior to a
student enrolling in classes.
"If we could reach the parents upfront
with the registration package, that
would be effective," Conant said.
Microgistics, inc. oners individual
profiles for the students with their
complete medical histories.
The committee plans to look into the
use of similar programs at other
universities to measure its success rate.
COCt!.COM
cock.sc.edu
have our digital word.
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