Subject: ACTION ALERT: University of Costa Rica Date: Wednesday, February 09, 1994 8:46AM University in Costa Rica Adopts Anti-Gay Policy A Costa Rican University, the Universidad Internacional de las Americas (UIA), has become enrolled in a legal battle after its policy of expelling lesbian and gay students was made public. An attempt by activists to close down the UIA because its admission policies violate Costa Rica's constitution has failed and the discriminatory policy remains in place. This very public controversy erupted on August 15, 1993, when a student wrote a letter to La Nacion (a Costa Rican daily) condemning the UIA policy of expelling students and professors who are "homosexuals" and/or men who wear earrings, have long hair, or wear lycra shorts. A week later, the UIA responded by taking a full page ad out in the same paper defending its policies, citing its obligation to uphold traditional Costa Rican values. At this point, the Instituto Latinoamericano de Educacion y Prevencion en Salud (ILPES), a local non governmental AIDS organization, formally requested that the Ministry of Education close down the UIA for violating the Costa Rican constitution and the fundamental human rights of its gay students. The petition was denied in early October because the complaint initiated by ILPES was unable to cite actual cases of discrimination. In its ruling, however, the Ministry of Education did point out that it would have been inclined to have ruled against the UIA had an actual plaintiff been presented. In particular it argued that policies that block a student's access to education because of their sexual orientation violate Articles 78 (right to education), 20 and 33 (equal protection) of the Costa Rican Constitution. ILPES promptly escalated by filing a compliant with the Sala Cuarta, Costa Rica's highest constitutional court. On December 9th the Court found that the University's policy of expelling long haired men violated Articles 20 and 33 of the Costa Rican Constitution, which clearly state that "all people are equal before the law." The Constitutional Court was unable, however, to make a determination on the constitutionality of the anti-gay policy because none of the students or professors who had been expelled because of their sexual orientation were willing to face the social censure that coming forward would have entailed. To surmount this problem, activists have been trying to get the Ministry of Education to agree to keep the names of any potential plaintiffs confidential. So far their requests have been denied. Meanwhile, the highly publicized legal battle has left lesbian and gay students on the UIA campus feeling even more vulnerable now that the discriminatory policy remains in place. Strongly worded letters of protest are needed to be sent to both the Ministry of Education and the Universidad Internacional de las Americas (UIA). Letters to the Ministry of Education should make the following points: 1. The Ministry of Education has an obligation to ensure that Universities in Costa Rica operate in accordance with the national constitution. Discriminatory policies on University campuses, whether enforced or not, place an unjust burden on lesbian and gay students and thus hamper their access to education. 2. The issue before the Ministry is not whether anyone is willing to come forward as a gay or lesbian student at the UIA. The issue is whether a discriminatory policy exists. That such a policy does exist is self evident given that the University has publicly and proudly defended it. Expecting isolated and very vulnerable students to face increased social marginalization, sabotaging of their careers and even expulsion from their University is to profoundly misunderstand the needs of lesbian and gay students. Letters to the UIA should include the following points: 1. Human rights, access to education, and protection from discrimination are not privileges doled out to those that act or look a certain way. The very reason these concepts are codified and made legally binding is to protect precisely those groups of people who may not conform to dominant ways of living. 2. To maintain that homosexuality comes from abroad or in any way represents a threat to society, all arguments that the UIA has used to defend its policies, is to deny the dignity and legitimacy of Costa Rican lesbian and gay people. 3. The right to an education is guaranteed by Article 78 of the Costa Rican Constitution, and Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Further, the Costa Rican Ministry of Education has made clear its belief that "the right to an education is a right of all people admitted and recognized in all the declarations dealing with fundamental human rights ... no type of discrimination in regards to access to education is acceptable, be it in a public or private institution, or be it based on race, age, gender, religion, and ... sexual orientation." Write to: Lic. Miguel Angel Gutierrez Alvarez Rector de la UIA Apdo. Postal 1447-1002 Paseo de los Estudiantes San Jose Costa Rica fax: +506-22-3216 Lic. Rafael Garzona Secretario CONESUP Ministerio de Educacion Publica 1000 San Jose Costa Rica