EDITORIAL: An act against humanity

The death of a gay University of Wyoming student has damaged all humans. At a time when the country was to mark National Coming Out Day, Americans instead were forced to confront the tragic questions of human hatred. Why would two young men lure a student out of a bar by claiming that they themselves were gay and then beat him so brutally that his skull crushed into his brain? Why would they tether him to a fence-post in near-freezing temperatures in such a condition that those who found him at first thought he was a scarecrow? While answers to such questions may never be found, individuals and communities around the country are beginning to search for explanations -- and perhaps for greater enlightenment and understanding. President Clinton and Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer have denounced the brutality, and Shepard's friends and families have held memorials. Schools across the country, including Penn, are holding vigils. As members of a college community -- where differences should be embraced -- Shepard's death is especially shocking. The premature ending of Shepard's life should spark anger, frustration and perhaps action in us all, regardless of our individual views on homosexuality. Indeed, the hatred committed against Shepard delves much deeper than anti-gay sentiments. It was anti-human and devoid of respect for life. Those are the real actions that are intolerable.