Petrelis Files

Gays Still Waiting for UCSF Chancellor
Meeting on Staph Stigma

As the third week of the UCSF gays and staph infections mess unfolds, I must say I am very disappointed the university has engaged in zero public accountability with the stigmatized community. UCSF, and its public affairs office in particular, has held no meetings or discussions with local gays.

It's as if we're infected with cooties and UCSF administrators are afraid of catching something if they began to treat community health advocates respectfully and sit in a room with us.

Five long days ago I requested a meeting with the UCSF chancellor. Yesterday longtime advocates Hank Wilson and Clinton Fein called and emailed the lesbian in charge of public affairs, Barbara French.

We are still waiting for her written reply about when UCSF will meet with.

I wonder if UCSF would take so long to meet with members of any other community slimed by the university's press office. Would African-Americans, women, Latinos, deaf people, have to wait this long for the chancellor to direct his staff to meet with that community?

The UCSF chancellor owes the gay community real engagement, and soon.

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January 24, 2008

Michael Bishop, MD

Chancellor

University of California at San Francisco

Dear Dr. Bishop,

I called your office today requesting a meeting for myself and other gay community health advocates and you. No one got back to me by the end of business today.

We would like to start a dialogue at the top of UCSF's leadership structure about what led to a very offensive UCSF news release last week regarding a study on staph infections.

Our community has been battered and stigmatized worldwide because of UCSF, and the way forward for local gays and your university begins with you hearing our concerns directly from us, the affected community.

We must hear from you what process was broken that led to the homophobic news release, how UCSF has disciplined those responsible, what measures are being taken to repair the damaged fragile relationship between the campus and the gay community, and how will you engage with us in the future to make sure the controversy we've endured as gays for the past two week because of UCSF's press office is never repeated.

To learn more about how the gay community has reacted to UCSF's clumsy handing of the "gays = staph infection" mess, check out my blog: http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/ .

Please contact me on Friday about setting up a meeting. Thanks.

Best regards,

Michael Petrelis

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January 28, 2008

Ms. Barbara French

Associate Vice Chancellor of University Relations

Box 0462 , 3333 California St. 103

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco, CA. 94143 - 0462

Dear Ms. French:

As a San Francisco resident for the last thirteen years, I am writing to urge that you or an appropriate member of your staff agree to meet with concerned members of the community to address the far-reaching and damaging consequences stemming from an ill-advised press release issued by UCSF regarding a study about MRSA in men who have sex with men. (Emergence of Multidrug-Resistant, Community-Associated, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clone USA300 in Men Who Have Sex with Men.)

While UCSF admitted mea culpa by issuing a disturbingly vague and unsatisfying apology (that did little to clarify specifically what the unintended damage was or specifically how the press release could have been so widely misinterpreted), many people continue to believe that UCSF has violated an important trust that is critical to the success of current and future studies, as well as the credibility of UCSF communications.

To the extent that people with AIDS or compromised immune systems are even more vulnerable to infection than most, it is useful that a researcher involved in the study has agreed to serve on a panel convened by Stop Aids on Wednesday to address the fallout from the UCSF press release. However, MRSA is not confined to people with AIDS or HIV, and the irresponsible language of the press release impacts more than just the gay community.

You are the individual who oversees the departments of Public Affairs, which is responsible for communicating news and information about UCSF to internal and external audiences, and Community and Governmental Relations, which fosters relationships with neighbors, community groups and government officials. You also oversee the UCSF Center for Gender Equity, which provides advocacy, education and support for men, women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Yours is an important and valuable role.

While working for the San Jose Mercury News, it was you who “broke the story that the reason the San Jose Fire Department didn’t have a single female firefighter was because of the false notion that women couldn’t pass the physical exam.” You recognize the power of the media, and have been quoted as saying: “As diverse as San Francisco and California are, you have to be sensitive and aware of multicultural differences and communicate appropriately to your audiences.”

The concentration of gays and lesbians, in San Francisco in particular, allows for incredible partnership opportunities with UCSF, and, as UCSF researchers themselves have pointed out, allows for valuable research and studies to be conducted that ultimately benefit the entire population. This mutually beneficial relationship is one that demands trust and integrity, both of which have been significantly compromised by the issuing of such an irresponsible press release. Instead of receiving gratitude for providing unique social and demographic opportunities to study such things as MRSA, an entire community has been vilified, endangered and scapegoated.

The media coverage related to the inappropriate language and implications of the UCSF press release has been global in scope, as has the misinformation garnered from it. The press release even failed to heed the cautions issued by the editor of Annals of Internal Medicine, in which the study was published. Homophobic organizations have specifically cited the press release as evidence of homosexuality being unhealthy and dangerous, to the peril of children and adults ensconced in such environments. While demonizing gays and lesbians can be hurtful in places like San Francisco, it can be lethal in paces like Wyoming.

Further, athletes, gym goers, and pretty much anyone who engages in contact activities, sexual or otherwise, or who comes into contact with contaminated surfaces, regardless of their sexual orientation, have been dealt a great disservice by the UCSF press release. What could have served as a useful prevention tool instead left the impression that MRSA was a concern primarily among men who have sex with men.

I truly believe it would be useful and productive for you or an appropriate UCSF liaison to meet with those of us concerned about the fractured relationship resulting from this press release, and provide an opportunity to not simply give voice to our concerns and express our dismay, but more importantly, facilitate a healthy exchange of ideas that will ultimately serve UCSF and the community at large.

It is a small step that could go a long way in terms of restoring the trust that has been breached and to explore remedies so that the communications issued by UCSF take into consideration the institution’s leadership role -- locally, nationally and internationally-- and the extent to which their communications impact the broader community they are intended to serve.

I would be happy to schedule and help facilitate such a meeting at your earliest convenience, and look very forward to a response.

Sincerely,

Clinton Fein