Jose Orozco
The Paw Print
On October 6-7th, 1998, a young man went to a bar. He met up with a some new acquaintances that suggested they would give the young man a ride home. He accepted and after the bar closed he went with them. Instead of taking the young man back to his home, these new acquaintances drove out to the middle of rural Wyoming. They proceeded to tie the young man up to a fence post and batter him. After several hours of torment, the young man was left for dead.
In the morning, a bicyclist riding along the trail took notice of an odd looking “scare crow” attached to a wood post fence. The victim was immediately rushed to the hospital after finding he was not dead, just unconscious. This young man’s name was Matthew Shepard. His death triggered a national movement on Hate Crimes. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was eventually passed into legislature by the Obama Administration on Oct. 28, 2009.
October has since been known as National Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) History month, with October 11 reserved as National Coming Out Day. In the Solarium of the Student Union Building the Adams State College Prizm Club’s purpose is “to create and maintain an inclusive, safe, and accepting environment on the ASC campus and surrounding communities for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We aim to defeat negative stereotypes and educate people by sponsoring social events and activities throughout the school year.”
On National Coming Out Day, the ASC Prizm club hosted an information table in the Solarium of the Student Union Building. At the table they handed out rainbow ribbons to show support for those who have come out. They also had a wide variety of biographies from high profile individuals including actor Neil Patrick Harris, singer Ricky Martin and comedian Wanda Sykes. They were also giving away Prizm key chains and Prizm window art to support the ASC Prizm Club.
Anyone interested in participating in future events can join the club by attending their meetings, held the second Tuesday of every month, or by contacting Jose Orozco, Club President at orozcoj13@gmail.com. They are planning on having a variety of events throughout the year, with the next event being a movie showing later this month.
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