On Friday, the Queer (In)Security Conference organized by the Militarization and Gender Research Cluster and Queer, Feminist, Trans Studies Research Cluster (QFT) will take place at the Student Community Center from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Since 2007 the QFT has put on a conference that discusses different issues, but this year, the QFT worked in conjunction with the Militarization and Gender Research Cluster to create an interdisciplinary conference. The theme of the Queer (In)Security Conference is safety, security and surveillance in relation to militarization and queer studies. The pepper spray incident of last November was the inspiration for the conference.

“I think a lot of inspiration came out of the situation with the Occupy Movement in UC Davis, the pepper spray incident and this idea that the police force on UC campuses are more militarized than peacekeeping. That they have this pepper spray and guns and they’re university police and it seems like there’s a disconnect,” said sixth-year graduate student in the Cultural Studies doctoral degree program and co-chair of the QFT Tallie Ben-Daniel.

The conference is composed of a roundtable, panels, discussions and a performance at the end. The topic of the roundtable will be the Occupy movement. Individuals from the Occupy UC Davis, Davis and Oakland movements along with students not involved in them will discuss queerness and security.

According to co-chair of the Militarization and Gender Research Cluster and postdoctoral student in Cultural Studies Hilary Berwick, in previous years panel speakers were graduate students, but this year undergraduate students will also be speaking.

“We’re devoted to having a space outside of the classroom that’s still in an academic setting where we can talk about these issues that are affecting us everyday,” Berwick said.

The focus of the panels are the issues of security and safety in queer studies. According to third-year Spanish literature graduate student and co-chair  of QFT Emily Kuffner, the first panel will include a presentation on the LifeTime series “Army Wives” and the homosexual legislation in Uganda, and will focus more on personal security. The second panel is oriented toward issues around national, social and cultural security.

Alongside panels, discussions and a performance at the end of the conference, there will also be two keynote speakers: Liz Montegary, a postdoctoral Cultural Studies UC Davis graduate who is now a professor in women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Yale University, and Elizabeth Povinelli, professor of anthropology and gender studies at Columbia University. According to Ben-Daniel, Povinelli will be speaking about different forms of suicide, including social suicide.

Montegary says that her talk will focus on Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign that encourages children to be healthier through exercise and improved eating habits since it deals with the problem of childhood obesity as a national security issue.

“Recently, the First Lady has reached out to lesbian and gay families and is trying to include them in ‘Let’s Move’ initiatives. In my talk, I ask how the incorporation of lesbian and gay families actually works as a way of regulating familial relations, bodies and desires,” Montegary said. “Why might queer activists who have lots of experience critiquing bodily regulations want to challenge fatphobic, anti-obesity rhetoric rather than trying to raise patriotic children with bodies fit to support the war machine?”

The Militarization and Gender Research Cluster and QFT have been working on the conference for approximately three to four months. In order to attend the conference, all students need to do is show up to whichever part of the conference they wish to see. This event is free for all.

Organizers of the interdisciplinary conference hope students gain a new way of thinking about issues of safety, security and militarization.

“We’re hoping that it will generate more conversations and taking into account more of a diversity of viewpoints when people are talking about issues of safety and security; that people just don’t look at it from the mainstream point of view because there’s  other angles to take into account,”  Kuffner said.

For more information on the Queer (In)Security Conference and a complete schedule of events, visit qftcluster.ucdavis.edu.

LILIANA NAVA OCHOA can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

A series of proposed reforms were announced Wednesday in response to the Cruz Reynoso Task Force report that investigated the Nov. 18 pepper spraying of student protesters. The release offers steps to improve campus protest management, police response and communication between parties.

The University said that efforts have already begun in response to Reynoso Report recommendations. This includes a review of campus police operations and policy and the creation of a Campus Community Council which will serve as a medium for communication between university administration and university constituents, such as students, staff, alumni, emeriti and community members.

According to the action plan, expectations include recommendation implementation, the development of interim actions with the consultation of all parties involved and the evaluation of the effectiveness and intended outcome.

Recommendations that have been issued for the administration and leadership response include the establishment of an “agreement on policies regulating protests and civil disobedience,” to which the University proposed assigning a task force to discuss and edit campus policies concerning protest activity.

The report also suggests the development of “standardized policies for managing campus events and incidents.” The university has begun to update the Davis Campus Emergency Operations to bring them in accordance with the National Incident Management System/Standardized Emergency Management System.

Officials also plan to “heal the campus and apply Principles of Community in a practical fashion” by reviewing the Principles of Community so that they are better implemented throughout the campus, as suggested by the Reynoso Task Force.

Other recommendations include a review of the “protocols and procedures of the UC Davis police department” and the creation of a systemwide inter-agency support system that would call for the respect and support of campus procedures by responding parties. It was also recommended that all members of the campus community adhere to the Principles of Community.

Kroll report recommendations are also highlighted in the proposal, including systemwide changes to the policing at the University of California and the establishment of a clear decision making process by the campus community.

The University said it will continue to make changes to the action items in coming weeks. Responses to the proposals can be sent to reviews@ucdavis.edu.

— MUNA SADEK

Next year, dorm residents will be required to buy Aggie Cash with their normal meal plan.

This new rule is unfair and could end up costing dorm residents up to $200 more, according to this year’s pricing. Meal plan prices are going up next year, so it is unclear what the exact increase will be.

While Student Housing said this new plan was implemented to allow for more “flexibility” when it comes to eating options, this would in fact constrain students and probably waste their money.

Aggie Cash can be used at the Silo and a few restaurants downtown, and it comes with a 10 percent discount on campus. However, most dorm residents do not have the time or desire to go downtown, and usually just go to the Sodexo-run Dining Commons (DC). Adding this requirement will not be helpful to students and is taking advantage of the fact that incoming students do not have enough information to make an informed decision.

Furthermore, this new rule is unfair to businesses downtown who don’t accept Aggie Cash, as they could potentially lose a quarter of their customers to restaurants that accept Aggie Cash.

Perhaps Student Housing really does want students to explore downtown and other eating options, but it seems that the main reason they are implementing this requirement is to make money. This new rule would give people an incentive to use Aggie Cash at Sodexo-run companies such as the Silo, the Dining Commons and Starbucks at the ARC. Sodexo is a French-based international company. There will be many students who buy Aggie Cash and never use it, which will also be a gain for Student Housing.

Students already have the option to buy Aggie Cash and they should not be forced to buy something that is not necessary and that they probably will not use. Student Housing should not force students to buy Aggie Cash, especially when room and board is already expensive.