Friday, October 16, 1998
Coming Out Week ends in memory of Shepard
ISSUE: A three deck, single column subhead goes here; assign
it
By Kathryn Combs and Emi Kojima
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Though Coming Out Week is nearing an end, issues of gay rights
still are receiving national attention in light of the death of
Matthew Shepard on Monday.
Shepard, a Wyoming University student, was pistol-whipped and
hung up in near freezing temperatures five days before his
death.
‘This extremely sad and absolutely horrible incident. (It) made
National Coming Out week more meaningful and more powerful for
everyone whether or not they participated,’ said Ronni Sanlo,
director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)
campus resources center.
Shepard’s death has become a rallying point for gays and
lesbians across the country seeking state and federal protections
against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
‘For the students here as with many campuses, (they) are
frightened and they are angry and are in pain. They clearly know
that it could have happened to anyone, on any campus Â
including UCLA,’ Sanlo said.
President Clinton held a White House conference on school
violence Thursday, and called again for a new hate crimes law.
He ordered the Education Department’s civil rights office to
better enforce laws intended to stop the discrimination and
harassment of students.
UCLA students said this incident made them think about their
identity.
‘I’ve never been harassed  much less beaten  for
being gay,’ said Jennifer Famulare, a fourth-year microbiology and
molecular genetics and policy student.
‘You would think college campuses would be safe. But this
incident proves (discrimination) still exists,’ she said.
Chris Frye, a fourth-year microbiology and molecular genetics
student, agreed that the incident showed a lack of tolerance in
America.
‘It’s awful if anyone gets beaten to death … much less if they
are beaten just because they are gay,’ he said.
Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have
proposed legislation that would increase the penalties for hate
crimes.
Legislation pending in the House and Senate would broaden
existing law to include offenses motivated by gender, disability
and sexual orientation, in addition to making it easier for federal
authorities to prosecute such bias crimes. The bill is H.Res.
597.
Organizers said that Coming Out Week succeeded in increasing
awareness of LGBT issues on campus.
‘(Coming Out Week) has allowed Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgendered people to connect with each other,’ Sanlo said.
Sanlo said this year’s events were designed to provide services
not only for UCLA’s LGBT population, but to also inform the general
population about issues facing this group.
‘What we tried to do this year is create visibility so the rest
of the campus community can realize the wide variety of diversity
that exists in the campus environment (and) in the multi-cultural
fabric of this campus,’ she said.
Among numerous events sponsored by the LBGT Campus Resource
Center during Coming Out Week were discussion groups for both men
and women, and a meeting of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on
LGBT Issues.
In fact, on Monday Candace Gingrich hosted a rally designed to
highlight some of the issues LBGT people face.
‘It was definitely empowering to hear the story of a woman who
had the courage to come out, despite having a brother who is known
for being conservative and anti-gay,’ Famulare said.
‘The rally may have given people the courage to come out. It was
kind of like Å’if she can do, so can I,” she said.
Sanlo said a primary aim of Coming Out Week at UCLA is to
provide a support network for students considering coming out.
‘(Coming Out Week) allows each person to take a look at first
whether or not they want to publically come out,’ Sanlo said.
With reports from Chauntelle Tibbals, Daily Bruin
contributor.DAVE HILL
Sharon Apodaca (far left) and Jennifer Kropke (far right), both
2nd year Law students, listen to Bill Rubenstein, UCLA professor of
Law and a former project director for ACLU, speak about the young
gay man who was killed in Wyoming as a result of a hate crime.
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