With no protesters in sight, students packed the Weasler Auditorium Tuesday night to listen to Judy Shepard’s message about hate crimes.

Shepard, whose son Matthew was murdered outside Laramie, Wyo. 13 years ago because he was gay, told her story to a crowd of teary-eyed students from several local schools.

She let the audience hear her victim impact speech, which she gave at the sentencing of one of her son’s two murderers. This brought students back to the courtroom with her and told them of the son she lost.

She described Matthew as understanding and always eager to make friends, and said he had an interest in theater and politics.

“I love and miss the late night talks about how we were going to solve the world’s problems, relationships, food, and movies,” she said. “I lost not only my first born, but my friend.”

She talked about the dreadful phone call and the “eternity” it took to get from Saudi Arabia, where her husband worked, to her son’s hospital in Colorado. When they made it to the hospital, she could not recognize her own son.

People sent money after Matthew died to help cover the medical costs, and Shepard used that money to create the Matthew Shepard Foundation, an LGBT advocacy and education group.

She encouraged students to tell their stories and the importance of educating and voting.

“This is the civil rights movement of this generation,” Shepard said. “You need to bring understanding where you see hate and ignorance.”

Shepard said in more than 30 states, people can be fired from their jobs because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

“This does not say all Americans are equal to me,” she said. “People do not see (gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people) on equal footing, and that needs to be changed.”

She also spoke about gay marriage, saying she did not understand why gay people are denied the ability to get married.

“If you can go to Vegas and be married by Elvis, what’s the big deal?” she said.

She asked students to contact their representatives on Capitol Hill about LGBT rights legislation.

Mostly, however, she emphasized the importance of staying true to one’s self.

“Your life’s mission is to be you — that is the greatest gift to you and to us,” Shepard said.

At the end of her speech, she asked students to consider what she was asking and to work toward ending hate speech and providing a safe, welcoming atmosphere for everyone.

Both John Dormady and Andi Woodward, sophomores at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, said Shepard was inspirational.

“I was moved, to say the least,” Dormady said. “Tears were shed.”

Woodward, the creator of the Facebook group “Support Matthew Shepard’s Mom Against Protestors,” said Shepard gave the audience a sense of optimism.

Bridget Rzymski, a freshman in the College of Communication, took away a single word from the speech — hope.

The issue of the gay community not being accepted is an issue of our everyday lives, Rzymski said. She feels it is very important to start tackling the situation, and it starts with Marquette’s campus being more accepting.

Renee Graber, a senior in the College of Communication, is working on a documentary about “The Laramie Project,” the play about Matthew Shepard’s death. She said she felt she had a personal connection with Shepard.

“It was empowering,” she said. “(Judy Shepard) is very eloquent and very humble, which made everything more moving.”

Shepard, who was asked about former College of Arts & Sciences dean candidate Jodi O’Brien, described the situation as “distressing” and hopes the university is doing something to help make gay and lesbian kids feel more welcomed on campus.

“By bringing me here hopefully will convey a message from the administration,” she said.