Charges Dropped in UCI Housing Protest Over Gays

Charges were dropped Friday against six UC Irvine students arrested last month for blocking the Administration Building to protest the lack of university housing for gay, lesbian and unmarried couples.

Harbor Municipal Court Judge Susanne Shaw dismissed the misdemeanor charges for lack of evidence at the request of the district attorney’s office, said John J. Duran, a civil rights attorney from Anaheim who represented the demonstrators.

The students, who were arrested March 7 during an otherwise-peaceful blockade of UCI’s Administration Building, expressed surprise at the decision and called it a “moral victory.”

“I think it’s a clear indication that we were exercising our free speech rights,” said UCI graduate student Randy Kerr, one of the six arrested.

Wendy Doetkott, another suspect, said they had been preparing to go to trial on charges of blocking a doorway and failing to obey police orders to disperse.

“I expected them to want to teach us a lesson,” the 23-year-old senior said. “I expected a hefty fine. I’m very surprised and delighted.”

Kathy Jones, associate vice chancellor for university advancement, said: “The decision (not to prosecute) doesn’t come as a surprise to us. . . . We would not take issue with it.”

The arrests followed more than a month of protests over the university’s decision to deny housing benefits to gay and unmarried couples. Student demonstrators--gay and non-gay alike--twice built a cardboard shantytown on campus to symbolize housing conditions for non-traditional couples and families.

Chancellor Jack W. Peltason has said University of California policy specifically permits only legally married couples to qualify for married-student housing.

Kerr said no further blockades are being contemplated, adding that the students are hopeful that the UC Board of Regents will address the issue of domestic partnership at an upcoming meeting.