Michael Frausto is a fourth-year psychology student at Point Loma Nazarene University. Last year The Point covered an incident of homophobic vandalism in which Frausto was the main target. On Oct. 4, 2024 Frausto attended an off-campus party where other PLNU students were present. Frausto was targeted for his sexuality and called a f***** by a PLNU student at the event. Frausto reached out to The Point to share his experience and reflect on his four years as queer person on campus. Two witnesses were able to confirm the incident at the party.
“One of them [a PLNU student] yelled out a slur at Michael. He was understandably upset and told them to stop calling him that. Even as they were removed from the house they continued to call him that,” they said.
“As everyone was leaving the party I came inside to see Michael, and as I was walking toward him the “f” slur was shouted and directed at him. I’m not sure what provoked the slur to be yelled, but there is absolutely no justification for it,” another witness said.
Because this was an off-campus and unsanctioned party, Frausto decided not to report the harassment to the university. In efforts to minimize harm, The Point did not attribute other sources within this article.
The Point: Have you experienced discriminatory behavior beyond those two instances on campus? What’s that experience been like for you?
Michael Frausto: It is not necessarily explicit. It is mostly just attitudes toward [me] and gestures. I was not born gay yesterday; I know how people act toward people who are gay, and how I have been treated all throughout middle school, in high school and no2w college. But I would just say that it [the behavior] is mostly just keeping their distance. I am not going to be controlling and say “come and talk to me.” I think it is important that this culture is more inclusive, like seriously more inclusive, and I don’t know how that can be solved. I think attitudes toward queer individuals just need to change.
TP: To what extent has PLNU administration worked with you to amend the events of last year?
MF: They [staff members] went to the extent of calling witnesses, people who may know [about the vandalism], people who are involved in the circle, that was as far as they could get. I feel like Title IX did more because they are holding Point Loma under federal law, so they have to carry out discrimination laws and civil rights protections. They gave me a “no contact order” with the two individuals that wrote on my door, [that established]they could not come into my pod. And then eventually, Jake Gilbertson [former dean of students] called me and said “okay, we’re gonna lift this, because it’s been like a couple weeks,” [and they were] kind of assuming that I felt safe. So there was still a no contact order in my pod, but they could come back into Young.
TP: Who was in charge of making sure that no contact order was being followed?
MF: I guess [it was based on] their trust. Honor code.
TP: Given your past four years here, do you think that PLNU staff and faculty are committed to creating a culture where queer students feel safe and welcome?
MF: Well, after hearing about the [former] dean of theology, no. I don’t know how many professors out there truly want inclusivity, but I know that there are quite a bit within the Psychology department and within the English department. Quite a few have reached out to me, via email after the article.
TP: Do you feel like a safe and welcoming culture toward queer students is something that the student body is committed to?
MF: I think there are a good amount of people, like my friends, who look past the outer and look at what your character is. I think there’s a good amount of people who do that, but there is that other side where there are students who do judge you by first impressions, which is normal to do, but they allow that to affect their attitudes toward someone. It [the incident] is just gonna keep perpetuating the same type of behaviors for future students. It just makes me sick knowing that there are students who do not have support. I do not know what has to change within the student body. The school is not committed. They say they are, but they are not.
TP: Do you have a support system?
MF: Yeah, definitely my friends. I’m blessed to say that, but I don’t know who else might not have a support system, and can’t talk about it for themselves freely within their friend group. I’m in a position where I can [express myself] and I am so blessed for that.
Freshman year was definitely a very rough time in the way that I expressed myself. I mean, I think just the language of like, “oh, you’re gay, oh, that’s gay” is using gay as a negative connotation. [That] Definitely didn’t make me feel good about being gay on campus.
TP: In your interview last year, you said that the vandalism made you feel like “people wanted your whole existence to disappear.” One year later, to what extent do you feel seen as a queer person on campus?
MF: I do not. It is so weird because, like I said, it’s such a roller coaster. Sometimes I feel like I don’t care what they think or they say, but then when stuff like this happens, it just makes me feel so small, which is so weird because I do have my support system. But sometimes I feel like these people just want me gone, which is so sh*tty to feel.
TP: Do you feel that way when you’re on campus?
MF: Sometimes. Not as much as I did [in the past]. I would get a lot of looks. Specifically [from] men, because they knew [about my sexuality]. But yeah, I would say [I experience] a lot of microaggressions.
TP: Over the past few years there have been a number of incidents that sparked conversations about the lack of support for queer students on campus. Why do you think it is important to talk about PLNU’s support, or lack of support, for LGBTQIA+ students?
MF: I think it helps people who aren’t [queer], or people who have been bullied, to empathize [thinking about] this topic of harassment. I think hearing the truth allows people to understand that this is the reality of queer students. When people hear these stories, it allows their attitudes toward specific people to shift and [helps us to] feel more compassion toward one another.
