'The Laramie Project' Addresses Hate

A group of OU students and alumni hoped to make people think about hate crimes this weekend with their production of "The Laramie Project," which played Thursday through Sunday in Gilson Studio Theatre in Old Science Hall.

"The Laramie Project," a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, is about the reaction of citizens of Laramie, Wyo., to the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998. Shepard was a 21-year-old, gay University of Wyoming student. It is widely believed that his murderers targeted him because he was gay.

"For a Saturday night where there's an OU home football game, U-Sing and a university production, we sold out all but four seats, which was pretty good," Jillian Robertson, director and OU drama alumna, said.

President Barack Obama recently signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expands federal hate-crimes law to include violence because of a person's sexual orientation. But an Oklahoma state lawmaker, Sen. Steve Russell, Oklahoma City Republican, has stated in a press release that he will file a bill in the spring that would "protect" Oklahomans from the federal law because it "oversteps the Constitution." To read the full press release, click here.