Altar focuses on nonviolence

By Erica Miller, On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, October 22, 1998

In an effort to raise awareness regarding violence borne out of hatred and abuse, an altar dedicated to Matthew Shepard was constructed in front of the Psychology Building on Wednesday.

Karla Saldana, coordinator of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Resource Center and James Thing, a sociology major, erected the altar.

The altar was made out of milk crates and draped with a white sheet, lace, flowers, candles and laminated articles concerning the beating death of Shepard, the University of Wyoming student who was murdered Oct. 7 because of his homosexuality.

A picture of Shepard was affixed to a rainbow flag that blew in the wind. The colors of the flag signify diversity and difference.

Along with the altar there was a poster board on which students wrote their feelings about violence and hate crimes.

"You see that hatred kills," Thing said. "We must all learn to accept each other's differences so that this hatred is not allowed to thrive."

As students, faculty and staff approached the message board and wrote down condolences and words of hope to the Shepard family, they discussed the connections between domestic violence and hate crimes.

"There is a lack of understanding, which turns into fear and an inability to see the richness of our differences," Marcela Chavez, coordinator of the Women's Resource Center, said.

Next to the memorial stood black wooden life-size figures called "Silhouettes," which are part of the Silent Witness exhibit at the Women's Resource Center.

Each silhouette had a mini-biography of a woman or child who had been victimized by domestic violence. Plaques on the silhouette's contained the name, age and circumstance of each victim.

"The message is very powerful when you see the inscriptions on the silhouettes," Chavez said. "What is amazing for students is that even though they know that abuse happens, once you see it, it becomes real."