UC Student Regent Comes Out In Wake Of Gay Suicides

University of California Student Regent Jesse Cheng has made a name for himself as the leader of a new wave of student activists. As the AP reported earlier this year, Cheng is "comfortable talking with both administrators and anarchists" and is "a presence at protests but avoids getting arrested." The UC-Irvine Asian-American studies major is effectively the most powerful student in California, and he's been very public about his desire for change within the embattled UC system.

And now he's being public about another thing: his sexuality. Cheng came out Wednesday night after years of hiding and downplaying the fact that he's bisexual.

Dan Tsang, host of KUCI's Subversity, has the story:

Years ago, apparently before he attended UCI, he had told his "homie" he liked men but his friends had beaten him up as a result, trying, he recalled, to beat the gayness out of him. He marched at his first gay pride march in San Francisco, but after his mother saw him on television, he denied it was him. At UC Irvine on Wednesday, he explained he "lived for" his mother and could not let him down. After his father found a rainbow flag he had collected, Cheng told his dad, with whom he was "not close," that he liked the colors. He also contemplated committing suicide. All this history of denial was the backdrop to his dramatic, unexpected coming out during a dark Wednesday evening at the UC Irvine flag poles during the University's speak-out and candlelight vigil against homophobic bigotry and hate in the wake of the suicide of gay Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi last month.

Read Tsang's full account here.

Comments

[greggchadwick]

09:16 PM on 11/09/2010

Jesse Cheng. I applaud your courage and support your decision to speak up. You are an inspiration for students and their families. Good luck at the Regents meeting next week. Please keep speaking your mind. You and your fellow students are the future of California.

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:52 PM on 11/08/2010

Glad to see the next generation of activists coming out. My hat is off to Mr Cheng and I wish all the best for him. The hope of the community is in our youth and the more that come out as activists, the better.

[roshni]

06:26 PM on 10/25/2010

Kudos to him for coming out. I hope he gets the appropriate support from his community and family.

[christonabike]

02:47 PM on 10/25/2010

Good for you. Your family and your state can be proud of both your accomplishments and your courage.

[Sam21]

12:15 AM on 10/25/2010

America has overcome a lot of inequality from African Americans, to woman but we still need to give equal rights to gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. Even if you do not agree with it or you like the opposite gender you need to give them equal respect. Our differences make us human beings and unique people. Without difference in the world where would we be? I hope people will learn to stop this type of bullying and respect others.

[flashnomad]

02:42 PM on 10/24/2010

What's the difference between a culture that stones a woman to death for loving who she wants and a culture that bullies a teen to death for loving who he/she wants?

It's time for Americans to insist on Equal Rights and Respect for LGBT as for any other American because that's what being American is all about.

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:55 PM on 11/08/2010

Sadly there will always be a subset who hate us and look down on us--because they have to have someone to look down on and GLBTs are still an easy target. What is sad is that in this time we should be all walking together, seeking answers to the real problems out there: the economy, war, religious strife....bullying GLBT youth does nothing but deprive us of people who may have some answeres we have never considered before. Anyhow, bullying people, especially kids, for who they are and who they love is just plain wrong.

[proggirl]

10:53 PM on 10/23/2010

After the indignities visited on me as a queer kid in North Minnesota in the early 1960s, I am so glad the bullies are finally being taken to task for their behavior. For years, decades actually, it was thought that it was the victim's fault for "not standing up for themselves." It's hard to stand up for yourself when 10 people are hitting you.
Go Jessie Ervine! May your example inspire many! As implied in the wonderful movie Angus, it should be the bullies who feel out of place, if anyone should.
I hope this is lucid. My emotions run high on this issue.

[oceanofconsciousness]

02:16 PM on 10/23/2010

Cheng, I fan you! I applaud you for your courage and leadership. May it inspire other gays to come out and feel proud of who they are.

[GayGrandpa]

03:50 AM on 10/23/2010

I salute you! "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

[wendykkk]

03:41 AM on 10/23/2010

After getting this special right for us LGBT, I won't think we are kicked out by family, by world. I'm here as a bisexual, get very happy for this matter. Now I can speak out loudly "hi everyone, I'm a bisexual. I love the world." without any hesitation. Now, feel we are also common people as equal as others. "No matter we are gay, lesbian, bisexual or tansgender, our heart is full of love. And we also hope to have life-long love" said by one of my bisexual firiend met at the famous bisexual club BiFlirts.com on heart blog. Most of us like-minded people are deeply moved by her honest words. Thanks for making us accepted by others. We are really proud of who we are.

[WeCanDoMore]

09:17 PM on 10/22/2010

A great guy and leader.

[Madhyamika]

03:51 PM on 10/22/2010

Friends one can pick and choose, relatives are another thing. It takes a lot of courage to overcome cultural baggage tied to loved ones and close relatives. Jesse Cheng deserves a standing ovation for coming out and show other bullied young people who might be contemplating suicide that they are not alone. Compared to the spineless politicians and heartless religious fanatics, Jesse and his kind are the future of a more compassionate and wise society.

[roshni]

06:28 PM on 10/25/2010

I thought that too as I know a lot of Asian families that have a hard time accepting this. Hopefully his family will be supportive if they don't already know.

[Steve York]

03:17 PM on 10/22/2010

Oh, glad to see you're still in the news Jesse! Its been a few months since you said this:
Benesch’s model found support from students who called for the council to defund the Koala and UC Student Regent delegate Jesse Cheng.

“We stand for this protocol because this issue is an issue of diversity and not really an issue of free speech and even less an issue of the Constitution,” Cheng said. “If it does come down to legality, it’s the Supreme Court’s responsibility to constitutionality — you don’t have to worry about that here.”

So now that you're a big figure head for Gay issues...I assume you'll be leaving them up to the Supreme Court to decide then, right?

[sheila]

11:07 PM on 10/22/2010

you do realize that this post is completely incoherent, right?

[BlueZoo]

01:06 PM on 10/22/2010

As an Asian, it must have been particularly difficult for Cheng to admit his homosexuality to the world and I certainly commend him for his courage. The Asian community has not been as accepting of their LGBT citizens as others have been and this is an important step to more tolerance.

[valeskas]

12:44 PM on 10/22/2010

To me this is a hero, someone who despite everything comes out and champions the gay and lesbian communities. I hope that many of the studenst there will support him.