The TV lounge in Atherton Hall was dark, faces were long, yet all eyes were fixed on the screen as more than 20 students watched MTV's Anatomy of a Hate Crime last night.

Across Shortlidge Road, students crowded in a room on the first floor of McElwain Hall to do just the same.

Adam Kapp (junior-psychology and English), a resident assistant in Atherton Hall planned to watch the movie with his residents.

"It is a good starting point for discussion," Kapp said, "and it's a way for those who are not familiar with the story to learn about it."

Anatomy tells the story behind the murder of 21-year-old, gay, University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard.

The film, written by Max Ember, is told from the perspective of Shepard's murderers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, who were eventually sentenced to life.

The movie, which was not made in conjunction with the Shepard family, did show an on-screen kiss with another man and disclosed that Shepard was HIV positive.

Angela Single (junior-English), a fellow Atherton Hall RA, thought the program proposed by Kapp would benefit her residents by making them aware of what's going on in their world.

"I was outraged that something like this could actually happen in the United States," said Ian Fairbairn (junior-science).

The film closed by showing clips of candlelight vigils that took place throughout the nation following Shepard's death.

"Seeing all of the vigils was very impressive," said Fairbairn, who attended some of the candlelight vigils sponsored by Penn State organizations in memory of Shepard.

Following Anatomy of a Hate Crime, MTV news had a live discussion with one of Shepard's friends and an expert from Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

Debbie Wilhelm (senior-agriculture business management), a resident assistant in McElwain Hall, also had a discussion with residents who had watched the movie.

"Usually in residence life we do upbeat programs, but I feel this is an issue that needs to have more attention throughout the college community," Wilhelm said.

"It's a sensitive issue," Wilhelm added, "but maybe if we raise awareness, more people will understand and hopefully we can curb future acts of violence."

Chris Polley (junior-animal bioscience) said he thought the movie had potential to affect a lot of people because of the high profile case and the amount of people who watch MTV.

Anatomy launches MTV's year-long Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination campaign.

Following the news special, MTV will air 18 commercial-free hours of celebrities reading accounts of hundreds of hate crime incidents that occurred throughout the country.

"It's not a happy topic," Wilhelm said, "but people need a forum to talk about this."

If you missed Anatomy of a Hate Crime last night you can see it again tomorrow on MTV at 1 p.m.