Harvard Present at Shepard Vigil

To the editors:

In "Matthew Shepard Honored at Vigil" (News, Oct. 16), Jared Wasserman writes that" [q]ueer leaders from Harvard College did not attend" the vigil at the Massachusetts State House, which was organized by the Governor's Taskforce on Hate Crimes. Wasserman's article gives the impression that there was no Harvard presence at this important event and that the gay and lesbian community at Harvard has not reacted to the brutal murder of the openly gay University of Wyoming student. In reality, Harvard-affiliated attendees at the memorial vigil included students and faculty members from the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Law School and the Harvard Divinity School, many of whom are dedicated delegates to the Harvard Queer Leadership Network, a university-wide organizing body. Indeed, in researching this article, Wasserman called one of our delegates and was told that there had been a Harvard presence at the vigil.

As a community, we are deeply saddened by the murder, and we urge the Harvard community to support the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1998 and to hold memorial observances of our own Activities in and around the Yard included staffing an informational table in front of the Science Center (Oct. 6) and a memorial service at Adams House (Oct. 22) to remember Matthew Shepard and all other victims to hate crimes. We invite the Harvard community to join with us to find ways to ensure that no individual is ever victimized on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

The writers are leaders of queer organizations at the College and several Harvard graduate schools. JARVIS T. CHEN, School of Public Health   NICOLE LYN DEBLOSI '99   SARAH L. DUNCAN '84,   Co-chair, Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus   RACHEL KRAMER '99   KARA LEWIS, Divinity School   RAFAEL MANDELMAN, Kennedy School of Govt.   SHARON MCGOWAN, LAW School   Oct. 26, 1998