Vol. 128, No. 36 Thursday, September 27, 2018

Vol. 128, No. 36 Thursday, September 27, 2018

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Cory Gardner recieves tip about fourth Kavanaugh accusation

Letters: Harassment from preachers is not protected speech

Dalyn Dawkins talks CSU football

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CSU students take on the difficult task of portraying real life people in the production “The Laramie Project.” The production stands as a testament to Matthew Shepard, a gay man, who was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming 20 years ago. The project brings to light the horrors of hate crimes in America. PHOTO BY LAURYN BOLZ COLLEGIAN

CSU remembers Matthew Shepard with ‘The Laramie Project’ By Lauryn Bolz & Walker Discoe @CSUCollegian

Almost 20 years ago, Matthew Shepard was tortured and left to die near Laramie, Wyoming. Found beaten, bloody and tied to a fence, he was taken to the Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins where he died six days later from severe head trauma. His death was ruled as a hate crime due to his sexual orientation, and the two men who committed the acts were charged with first-de-

gree murder after his death. These horrible and sickening events sent shockwaves from the small town of Laramie across the country, inspiring activist groups, foundations and even artists to keep Shepard’s story alive. Now, approaching the 20th anniversary of Shepard’s death, the Colorado State Theatre program is bringing the story back where it started and performing “The Laramie Project.” “Hopefully we can portray (the show) in a way that (the au-

dience) really feels for the town and the people who were closest to Matthew,” said Annabel Wall, a CSU senior communication studies major and a member of the cast. “Hopefully they can remember that and feel remorseful, and also think about the world we live in, especially because we are doing it on the 20th anniversary, how we’ve changed 20 years later and how we haven’t.” Jacob Bielmaier, an actor portraying six different characters, says the difficult subject matter

the play deals with has been demanding and tough to portray. “It’s a different project than I’ve ever worked on before,” Bielmaier said. “The production is very hard-hitting, which makes it a difficult task to do. It definitely has impacted each of us in different ways, some of them may be in one way connecting with a monologue that is super hard-hitting. That has definitely impacted my acting style on it because reading the words is completely different than acting out the words when

you’re onstage.” “The Laramie Project,” a case-study turned into a play by the Tectonic Theatre Project based out of New York, chronicles the real interviews done by the theatre company after Shepherd’s murder. The show, which has been performed for around 30 million people around the country, tells the true tales of the events, people and places involved in the murder of Shepard. In three

see LARAMIE on page 21 >>