Minutes 5-14-05
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May 14, 2005 Minutes

UC Los Angeles

Attendees:
UC Berkeley: Billy Curtis
UC Davis: Sheri Atkinson, Jeff Lagasca (Student Chair) Ed’d Luna, Rachel Messer
UCLA: Sean Arayasirikul, Ronni Sanlo
UC Riverside: Raquel Bernaldo, Marlenne Felix, Alex Garcia, Chris Glover, Clare Gmur, Jami Grosser, Tannam Nguyen, Bryon Nuttall, Tiffany Rockett, Tatiana Svolopoulos, Nancy Jean Tubbs (Vice Chair)
UC San Diego: Peper Anan, Joshua Danakian, Sean B. LaPerruque, Shaun Travers
UC Santa Barbara: Kyle Richards (Secretary)
Not present: UCI, UCM, UCOP, UCSC, LANL, LBNL, LLNL

10:28 Meeting called to order (Nancy Jean Tubbs)
Welcome & Introductions

10:33 Review of Minutes from February 18, 2005 SCOM
Approval of February 18 Steering Committee Meeting Minutes, with one clarification.
Shaun moved to approve, Clare seconded. Unanimous approval.

10:38 Campus Reports

UC Santa Barbara:

  • Campus Climate Survey – campus-wide survey of all faculty/staff and about _ of students
  • David Bohnett CyerCenter – Grand Opening on May 26
  • Academic Senate proposal to ban military recruiters on campus (vote was scheduled for yesterday, but was postponed due to lack of quorum)
  • Funding for full-time Assistant Director for next year

UC Davis:

  • Work on Trans issues – Trans action Week (November), SA Roundtable on meeting the needs of Trans students ‡ getting gender-neutral restrooms into campus bldg. Stds; converting single-staff restrooms to be gender neutral; creating a website with map of gender-neutral restrooms
  • 2nd annual Intersex Awareness Week two weeks ago; considering adding the “I” to the LGBT Resource Center
  • Creating a new building to house the LGBTRC – 5-7 year plan; campus-wide surveys
  • Masculinity forum (project of Ed’d) targeted at masculine men (eg. Fraternities, etc.)

UC Riverside:

  • Increased influence in Graduate Students Association
  • National Day of Silence – Very successful this year. 50 at silent rally, which turned into a spontaneous parade; 300 participated in some way (wearing black, a button, etc.)
  • Rankin’s Campus Climate Survey – forum next Tuesday to let campus know of results; first survey was done in 2001
  • Stonewall Hall has 9 students signed up. Opening this fall
  • Gender-neutral also opening in Fall; 17 students signed up
  • Pride Week – Drag Ball; raised $1100; screening of movie Kinsey; Queer Fashion Show

11:00 Break for Lunch; move to private dining room

11:45 Resume campus updates

UC San Diego:

  • 4th Annual National Day of Silence – T-shirts for 350 people (“Can you hear the silent screaming?”); rally of about 300;
  • Grant from David Bohnett Foundation – 10 laptops
  • Out & Proud Week – 4-year of “High T” discussion on trans issues; film “Tarnation” & discussion on mental health issues; coincided with Take Back the Night Week – partnered; David Sedaris; Gavin Newsom spoke on Marriage equality
  • Gail Ruben speaking in two weeks; from U of MI
  • AS is in the red, student organization funds are hard to come by

UC Los Angeles:

  • Started academic year with challenges – new LGBT Resource Center was attacked (three windows were vandalized by rocks & bricks); windows installed with “bullet-proof plastic”
  • Three suicides week before Thanksgiving – one was woman who hung herself in residence hall (today is her birthday; she would have been 20)
  • Resource Center does not do programming (mostly done by student orgs)
  • First David Bohnett CyberCenter Grant – had grand opening in January
  • Grad student case study competition (40 participating, 600 in audience)
  • Grant from Liberty Hill Foundation to fund a librarian to catalogue library
  • 8th Annual Lavender Graduation on June 18
  • March was 10th Anniversary of the Center; Celebration to happen in October
  • Ronni is teaching a course called “LGBT is not a Sandwich” about queer issues in America; class max is 20 and fills up

UC Irvine:

  • Will be announcing their new Queer Studies Minor soon

UC San Francisco:

Hormones & psychotherapy have been added as health benefits for graduate students (GSHIP)

UC Merced:

  • Opening this Fall with about 1,000 students
  • Shane met with VC of Student Affairs
  • Almost no student services (including an LGBT Resource Center)
  • Suggestion of staff/students from other UC schools visit Merced to help with training
  • Hiring Student Affairs “fellows” – recent graduates work for 10-11 months in residence halls & student affairs in exchange for room/board & stipend

11:49 Review of Western Regional Conference (Sheri Atkinson, Jeff Lagasca, & Ed’d Luna)

  • 780 participants
  • Many people appreciated the space that was made for people of color – may have been challenging to some (white) students
  • 84 % were students; 41 male; 41% female; rest were “other” including 30 different gender identities
  • 24% multiethnic; 9% white; 4% asian; 3% chican@; rest were among 50 “other” categories
  • UCD will provide a more detailed “report” of the numbers later
  • Many agreed that conference organizers did an amazing job. Kudos!
  • Good idea to have the campuses helping out in other ways – took load off of Davis (Thanks to Riverside & San Diego)
  • Suggestion for next year: provide special coordination for a scholarship, fee waiver, & home-stay programs
  • Aftermath – created dialogue around several issues; encouraging to see the community come together, and the development of new student leaders

11:58 Future Western Regional Conference

  • Limited responses to call for 2006 conference
  • AZ State & OR State have both agreed to host a conference at some point, but not next year
  • They will talk to each other to see who will host in 2007
  • NGLTF Creating Change Conference will be in Oakland November 9-13—has a youth track

12:00 Future General Assembly Meetings

  • SCOM every quarter; GA in Winter (according to Constitution has to be once a year)
  • Coordinate General Assembly meeting with other UC-wide conference
  • Encourage students to attend other UC conferences (Student of Color Conference, Womyn of Color Conference) – will help building alliances with other communities and address multi-issue topics
  • Nancy will contact UCSA leadership; congress in August—encourage UCLGBTIA members to attend
  • Have separate SCOM and General Assembly meetings? Yes. The SCOM should be kept a business meeting, and the GA meeting can be a dialogue
  • SCOM at Creating Change Conference? Expensive – low-income student rate is $150; may be too expensive for many students Scheduling is difficult—when would we hold the meeting? Would people come? Conversations with NGLTF about low-income rate
  • Options for Fall:
    1. If there is a SOCC in Fall, then have the SCOM there
    2. Have SCOM at Creating Change
    3. Have SCOM at UCSC at some other date
  • Wait & see if & when the SOCC will be
  • Have discussion on the UCLGBTIA listserv to determine Fall SCOM

12:56 Gender Neutral Restrooms

  • Letter to UCLGBTIA from Senior Vice President dated May 11, 2005
  • Changes in law do not require them to ensure gender neutral restrooms
  • Numbers of gender neutral restrooms do not seem to add up—maybe they include residence halls? Or maybe they do not include all of campus (Student Affairs offices?)
  • Go back to our campuses to meet with our Facilities administrators about these numbers.
  • Utilize Chancellor Advisory Committees. Publicize lists on the web

1:10 Policy on nondiscrimination (Nancy Jean Tubbs)

  • Proposed change in policy to allow discrimination among student groups, but with the forfeit of University funds
  • Trend across country of religious student groups bringing suits against universities based on their nondiscrimination policies (they feel they should be able to discriminate based on their religious freedom)

1:14 Suicide Prevention (Ronni Sanlo)

  • Student organization (“Mandi’s Team”) supported by student government
  • Examining issues of mental health, depression, & bi-polar disorder among college students
  • Educational program series (first one called “Depression Unplugged”)
  • Targeted toward students who may be concerned with a friend—create a supportive community environment to be able to address the issue
  • Information to be included in all new student organization packets
  • Targeted training for Student Affairs professionals
  • Concerns with pychotropic drugs, and why students may not use them
  • Problem with counseling services – waits are often very long to make appointment
  • Peer Counseling program at Irvine may be a useful model for other campuses
  • UCSD Queer Peer Support
  • UCLA Peer Help Line through Counseling Center
  • Berkeley – not a peer program, through Counseling Center
  • Action item: Have campuses report back at next SCOM about what resources they have or ideas to share

1:45 Meeting moved to the LGBT Resource Center

1:55 Discussion on Queer People of Color Issues

3:24 Nominations for Executive Officers

Vice Chair:
Sheri Atkinson was nominated by Jeff Lagasca
Bryon Nuttall was nominated by Clare Gmur

Student Chair:
Raquel Bernaldo was nominated by Peper Anan
Ed’d Luna was nominated by Jeff Lagasca; Ed’d withdrew his nomination.
Sean Arayasirikul self-nominated

Secretary
Billy Curtis self-nominated
Sean LaPerruque was nominated by Peper Anan

3:35 Speeches & campus caucuses

Each candidate made a short speech
After speeches were made, Ed’d Luna withdrew his nomination

4:00 Election results
Vice Chair – Sheri Atkinson
Student Chair – Raquel Bernaldo
Secretary – Billy Curtis

Upcoming Meetings
1. NGLTF Creating Change Conference – Oakland; Nov 9-13, 2005
2. SCOM Fall 2005 TBD
3. General Assembly 2005-06 TBD
4. SCOM Spring 2006 @ UCSC (tentative)
5. Possible conference hosts for 2007 include Arizona State or Oregon State.
6. Upcoming sites of future meetings include Riverside, Santa Cruz, & Irvine

4:01 Clare moved to adjourn the meeting. Rachel seconded. Consensus approval.

Minutes submitted by Kyle Richards.