People deal with tragic situations in different ways.

In an effort to deal with her grief, Judy Shepard has been speaking at college campuses around the nation about her personal experience with hate crimes. Her son Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student at the University of Wyoming, was murdered in October 1998 by two men who posed as gay and then beat him, leaving him for dead.

At 8 tonight, Shepard will be discussing hate-crime prevention in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. She is the keynote speaker for Awareness Week 2000.

Shepard’s lecture, which is titled “The Legacy of Matthew Shepard: Hate Crimes Prevention,” will focus on what schools and communities can do to make their areas safer for minorities. Her presentation is free and open to the public.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Alliance President Levi Richardson said his group is excited to have Shepard at Iowa State for Awareness Week.

“This is probably one of the best keynote speakers we’ve had in a long time,” said Richardson, sophomore in computer engineering.

Richardson said students may feel as if they know everything about Matthew Shepard’s murder, but this event will provide a more personal insight into the tragedy.

“[Matthew Shepard’s death] was a big thing in 1998 with all the media hype,” he said. “This lecture is a great opportunity to see the real side — to hear how it really affected everyone.”

Judy Shepard and husband Dennis started the Matthew Shepard Foundation to help carry on their son’s legacy. This has included working for gay and lesbian equality and helping to prevent hate crimes.

“Shepard is going to talk about why people should care about hate crimes,” Richardson said. “She’ll also speak out against hate crimes in general.”

Jeremy Hayes, information coordinator for the Alliance, said students should be interested in the laws concerning hate crimes.

“Everyone needs to be aware of hate crimes [against] all minorities,” said Hayes, sophomore in management information systems. “Things that are not necessarily hate crimes are discriminatory actions and harmful to other people.”

Besides speaking on campuses, Shepard taped public service announcements sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network that have been airing on MTV since October 1999. These announcements focus on stopping anti-gay violence and promoting a greater understanding about gay issues.

“I think her topic is very timely because of the commercials she did last year, and as a whole, students remember who Matthew Shepard was,” Richardson said.

Hayes agreed that students are still talking about hate crimes on college campuses.

“Matthew’s death is still fresh in everyone’s mind,” Hayes said. “It will make everyone aware of issues facing homosexuals.”

Organizers said Shepard’s speech may draw the largest crowd ever to a LGBTAA-sponsored event.

“It should be the most attended event of the week. The interest level is high,” Richardson said.