Where:
Jan. 30,7 p.m.
Great Hall*
Contact: Terri Phoenix
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On October 8,1998, Judy and Dennis Shepard were awakened in the middle of the night in Saudi ^
Arabia, where Dennis works, by a telephone call no parent should ever have to receive. What
they heard changed their lives forever. Hxir eldest son, Matthew, was in a coma after having been
brutally attacked — because he was gay. The distraught parents jlew to Ft. Collins, Colorado, and ^
met'Up with their youngest son, Logan, to visit Matthew in the hospital. On October 12, Matthew.
passed away.
Judy Shepard is determined to use her grief over her sons death to make a difference —to do what
she can to ensure that no other parent wiUJiaye to endure what she has. She is now speaking to
audiences nationwide about what they can do to make their schools and communities safer for
everyone, regardless of their race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation.