Gay Cal Poly student accuses Mike Winn of homophobia

May 27, 2016
Mike Winn

Mike Winn

Cal Poly professor and former and Nipomo CSD director, Mike Winn, told a queer student and diversity activist that gay marriage is a “grave moral mistake” and that gay people suffer in the afterlife, according to a Title IX discrimination complaint filed against the university. Cal Poly officials then lied to the student, falsely stating that Winn had retired, the complaint alleges. [Tribune]

In Feb. 2015, political science student McKinley “Mick” Bruckner was taking Winn’s communication studies class. Bruckner met with Winn one-on-one in the professor’s office where they discussed a speech the student was preparing.

Bruckner told Winn he was planning on giving a speech on the persecution of gays and lesbians during the Holocaust. Winn reportedly voiced skepticism that gays and lesbians were targets of the Holocaust.

Winn also told Bruckner that his speech would be biased because he is gay and that he has never heard a homosexual man give a good Christian viewpoint on homosexuality. Bruckner said he never told Winn that he was gay. Rather, the professor assumed it.

Eventually, Winn allowed Bruckner to give a speech on the treatment of homosexuals during the Holocaust. But, Bruckner said Winn made him very uncomfortable and made it so that he did not ever want to go to class.

Mick Bruckner

Mick Bruckner

Bruckner first complained about Winn to College of Liberal Arts administrators the day after his meeting in the professor’s office, he said. Administrators said it would be better for them to handle the situation informally than to go through the university’s Title IX process. Bruckner continued to speak with administrators over a period of several months.

On Nov. 19, Bruckner received an email from Penny Bennett, the associate dean for student success in the College of Liberal Arts. The email stated Winn retired from Cal Poly and that was a good thing for the university and students.

The dean’s office essentially told him that Winn was forced to retire, Bruckner said.

But this spring, Bruckner ran into Winn on campus and learned he was still teaching at the university. Bruckner said running into Winn was so anxiety-producing because he had been placed in a weird, sticky position by administrators.

Earlier this month, Bruckner opted to file a formal Title IX complaint. Cal Poly has retained the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate the discrimination charges and has until Aug. 5 to respond to them.

Winn previously served as the president of the Nipomo CSD Board of Directors. In 2013, he applied for the District 4 SLO County supervisor seat that was vacated after the death of Paul Teixeira. Winn has described himself as a Christian and social conservative.

Photo from Mick Bruckner's Facebook

Photo from Mick Bruckner’s Facebook

Bruckner said Winn believed homosexuals were immoral and were going to hell. Winn also claimed to be a scholar on homosexuality and said he went to national conferences and debates to defend the moral high ground, Bruckner said.

During the current school year, Bruckner became an active participant and co-coordinator of the SLO Solidarity movement. SLO Solidarity has been demanding the Cal Poly administration do more to promote diversity on campus.


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Dear Gay people,

Freedom of thought, opinion and choice is part of our freedoms. Because somebody does not agree with your life choices does not make them a hater or ignorant as many would have you believe.We are all free to like or dislike simply just because we can. There is no law that says we all must accept others choices, nor for that matter if one feels strongly enough hatred towards something is that is not a crime either. So many are at a loss as to why the likes of Trump is where he is, its not about hatred, its about millions of Americans being told by our government what they must like, must agree to and must accept. Be gay, fight for your equality in this life, but do not think that everyone will accept or agree to your life choices. Regardless of what you, political agenda or administration tries to force upon others, it will only serve to create anger towards you and isolate you further from what you fight for, acceptance by all. You cannot force others to accept a way of life or anything else because your are told to do so.


Ever notice that it’s OK, even applauded by popular culture to attack Christians, particularly Catholic Christians? The same goes for: heterosexuals, gun owners, meat eaters, etc. Attacking such individuals is not acknowledged as bigotry even though it most certainly is.


Homosexuals on the other hand are a protected species. All they have to do is run to an: administrator, dean, lawyer, judge and whine and they get action no matter the validity of their claims.


The backlash to this inequality is coming and it’s going to be harsh…


It won’t be long before Christians are jailed because they express their beliefs! Everyone can express a belief or an opinion except for a Christian! Microagression is alive and well on all college campuses. Newspeak is here!


And by the way…did you see the recent news ? Mayor Bill de Blasio mandates that NYC businesses acknowledge 31 gender pronouns or be fined big bucks. Yep…it’s getting crazy!


The only thing I’m really going to say is that if you are going to complain, just make sure it is in writing. Otherwise, you are going to have what we have here, and that is a he said, he said. It’s all informal, “Winn was gonna retire, oops, not retired”. This guy is screwed whether his “discrimination” is valid not.


Lesson learned.


Professor Winn should sue the original reporter at the Tribune for this. So biased. Anyone can say anything, but to report it as fact is libel.


Hmmmm…never told him he was gay, rather the professor assumed it..after looking at the picture, I have no idea why the professor could have assumed such a thing.


“Cal Poly professor and former and Nipomo CSD director, Mike Winn, told a queer student and diversity activist that gay marriage is a “grave moral mistake” and that gay people suffer in the afterlife, according to a Title IX discrimination complaint filed against the university.”

I’m confused. Exactly how is the comment that Wynn allegedly made considered discrimination? It’ was nothing more than an opinion. Professors express their opinions in the classroom daily..regarding all issues without recrimination. It doesn’t appear that Wynn at any time prevented the student from presenting his speech, he simply refused to embrace the gay/lesbian way of life. right or wrong, isn’t he entitled to his own opinion…I think so.


So if I’m a college professor and it is my opinion, just an opinion, that a certain ethnic group should be shipped back to Africa it would be o.k. to express such opinion to a Black student?


Yes. As long as they ship you too, obispan, with them. What a deceptive thing to say.


Did he really even say that?


Since when did the phase “grave moral mistake” become “phobic” in any context, or on any subject? It sounds more like the opening volley for an philosophical/apologetic/intellectual exchange. I guess we don’t have those any more?


Waahh! sniff sniff I’m so oppressed.


You need to finish the statement, “I’m so oppressed……. give me something”