Homophobia within UC Riverside

Homophobia at UC Riverside 

The following are examples of individual homophobic incidents in which funding was denied due to it "not fitting" the requirements and a position within a university-sanctioned student organization was believed to "not be necessary"due to demographics. This are only a small number of cases and should not be considered autonomous from one another, race, class, ethnicity, gender, sex, ability discrimination that occurs at an everyday level, company - state - and nation state level. 

Example 1: ASUCR 

Email of Staff Employee:

"It has come to my attention that the Queer Conference Committee was allocated GCAP funding for their QPOCConference. After looking at the requirements in the GCAP referenda, it didn't appear that the conference was specifically about sustainability, so I contacted Andres Cuervo (GCAP Author) to get a clearer understanding.

He specified that the main focus of the "projects" should be about energy awareness, sustainability and other "green" issues. QPOCC is not first and foremost a conference about sustainability, and therefore probably should not have been given a hearing for the funds.

Perhaps I can come to your next GCAP meeting and go over some of the particulars so that everyone will have a better understanding? In the meantime, you should contact the QCC, and let them know that their conference is not eligible for funding under the GCAP guidelines."

Email of Student ASUCR Senator:
"So we reviewed the referendum and the standing order, and according to the standing order "The GCAP Implementation Committee shall: (d) Hold a majority vote for decisions regarding all affairs or finances of the Green Campus Action Plan excluding the ASUCR Sustainability Fund." Basically, we're not allowed to vote on these issues so QCC's and William Moore's application will be reviewed by the Finance Committee. It was my fault that I did not give you guys the standing order, so I will attach it hear and please read it thoroughly."

GCAP Criteria	Queer People of Color Conference
Project must occur on campus	YES
Project must promote sustainability	YES
***Project must fall within the GCAP definition of sustainability	NO
Project must have evaluation and follow up component	YES
Project must be submitted by undergraduate student clubs	YES
Project must receive necessary written approvals prior to consideration	YES
Project must have undergraduate student participation	YES
Staff oversight is required in some cases	YES
ASUCR will not support sustainability projects already mandated by policy/UCR	---

Comments

• Importance of knowing how homophobia works in order to notice it 
• "Sustainability" is seen as something irrelevant for gender programming 
• Previous projects show that how certain groups are being privileged to these funds because of stereotypical misconceptions about what it means to promote "sustainability" 
• Must be an connection between the concept and practice of environmental justice and gender justice

Example 2: MEChA at UCR 

From conversation about heteronormativity with students, the case of MEChA is one that occurred fairly recently. Below is part of the manual focused on sexism and homophobia which are the sections of interest in the incidents that follow. 

As explained in "MEChA Philosophy" (page 9-10)

• Every M.E.Ch.A. chapter will hold workshops and/or forums dealing with the contributions of mujeres to our movimiento
• At every National M.E.Ch.A. Conference and Statewide M.E.Ch.A. Conferences there will be a gender caucus. These caucuses will be the Chicana and Chicano caucuses in which gender issues will throughly discussed.
• At every M.E.Ch.A. National Conference and M.E.Ch.A. Statewide Conference there will be a Chicana Workshop in which the contributions made by Chicanas will be presented. 
• Every M.E.Ch.A. chapter must provide homophobia educational segments on their campus. 
• At every Statewide and National M.E.Ch.A. Conference workshops on our LGBT community and the harms and injustices of homophobia must be provided
• Any Mechista who makes homophobic remarks must be stopped and corrected

Yet, UC Riverside Incidents have occurred since, National MECha had to send out a mass call to the organizations to announce the disapproval of the sexist and homophobic "MEChA Leadership Manuel" endorsed by UC Riverside. Here is some of the content provided as examples of this (MEChA 1-2).

• “In Chapters 17 and 18 of the Holy Bible, God sets down rules that are abominations to him. God is not just picking on jotos. To mention the rules quickly, they are not to eat blood, not to have sex with any relative, not have sex with any relatives through marriage, not to have sex while a woman is on her menstruation, not to have sex with neighbors, not to curse by the name of the Lord, not to have sex with the opposite sex, and not to have sex with animals.” 
• “God is saying that you must not support any of these abominations, either with family or strangers. The people committing the abominations will be cut off from there people. If he’s a Chicano gay, he will be detached from his family and community. Is he not detached?” 
• “God’s warning is that we should not commit these abominations because they create more confusion, and the land itself will spit you out because there will be a price to pay at reckoning. Keep in mind that in a perfect world, de jotos, God would have created Adam and Steve, not Adam and Eve.” (Tijerina Cantu 386). 

Step 1: National MEChA Demands

• MECha de UC Riverside stops endorsing individual
• Mr. Roberto Tijerina Cantu CEASES from representing MEChA through his guest speaking, in MEChA spaces and circles, and on his websites. 
• To stop producing and selling Mr. Tijerina Cantu’s book, MEChA Leadership Manuel 

Step 2: Creating a Gender and Sexuality Chair

• Its not really necessary for that community 
• There’s not enough queer people in that space 
• Queer is visibly identifiable? 
• That justifies why there is no change at the institutional level to actually set that up 
• Do we really need this chair to be accountable? 
• Yeah there needs to be a space: MECHA, CSP, Centers not integrated and outside of the university asking those same questions

SOURCES: 

"FOLLOW UP STATEMENT FROM THE 2012 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MOVIMIENTO ESTUDIANTIL CHICAN@ DE AZTLAN (M.E.Ch.A.) IN REGARDS TO THE BOOK ENTITLED: MEChA LEADERSHIP MANUAL BY ROBERTO TIJERINA CANTU." Print. 

"Philosophy of MEChA." National MECha. Print. 

Interview with MECha Chair of Gender and Sexuality. December 5, 2012.