After a former student rebuffed his advances, Genaro Meza-Roa, AS VP for business and operations, harassed her via text. The messages continued until the student received a no-contact directive from the university. These screenshots have been redacted by the AS Review to protect the former student’s privacy.
By Soleil de Zwart
A former student has come forward to describe a pattern of harassment by Genaro Meza-Roa, the Associated Students vice president for business and operations.
The harassment began with unwanted sexual advances and repeated text messages, and ended with a confrontation outside a coffee shop that occurred while Meza-Roa was a board member.
The AS Review has reviewed a university incident report and screenshots of text messages, and spoken to three individuals who the student described the encounters to at the time. Following standard journalistic practice, the AS Review does not generally name people who have experienced harassment or violence.
Meza-Roa was elected to the AS board unopposed last fall and is now facing a recall election that ends at 8 p.m. Monday.
While the AS board relied on testimony from student employees that Meza-Roa had not completed his job responsibilities in initiating the recall, Meza-Roa’s conduct was raised at the student senate after the former student sent an email referencing their experiences with Meza-Roa. Several senators mentioned the importance of responding to the allegations at the time, although the senate’s recommendation to impeach was based on a variety of testimony about Meza-Roa not fulfilling his job responsibilities.
“My intention is to spread awareness that this is how I understand him to be and this is my experience with him,” the former student said. “And that I really wish for the outcome of me sharing my experience to be for other people who are in my situation, who are kind of naïve and vulnerable, to have a heads up.”
She hopes Meza-Roa will get educated and learn how to take no for an answer and respectfully interact with others in the future, she said.
When contacted by the AS Review, Meza-Roa said the advances were not unwanted and they had made plans to meet again. He declined to comment otherwise, outside of contesting some descriptions, calling it a personal matter.
Initial harassment
On Nov. 3, 2017, the student met with Ashley Barnes, resident director for the Fairhaven Complex, according to an incident report obtained under Washington’s public records law. (The report reads Friday, Oct. 3, however the other documentation is dated Nov. 3 and only Nov. 3 landed on a Friday.)
Meza-Roa had initially approached the student, a freshman at the time, on campus and asked her for her number earlier that quarter, she said an email.
The student told Barnes that she had gone over to Meza-Roa’s apartment in Birnam Wood to hang out a few weeks ago, according to the incident report. While there, Meza-Roa forcefully made out with her, even though she didn’t want to.
After she told Meza-Roa she didn’t wish to have sex with him, he continued his advances, so she decided to leave, the student said in an emailed account. She said she doesn’t consider his behavior assault, but called it frightening and unwanted.
“I didn’t feel comfortable around him but didn’t know how to exit peacefully,” she wrote.
In the following days, Meza-Roa continued to message her after she told him she did not want to see him, according to the former student and her roommate at the time.
“His response to my request was to verbally and emotionally attack me. His behavior turned into stalking – repeatedly bypassing my request that he not contact me,” the former student wrote in her email.
Screenshots of text messages provided by the student show that a contact named Genaro texted her on Oct. 19 to say that he still somewhat resented her, but wanted to apologize for insulting her. On Oct. 31, he texted her again (misspelling her name) to ask if she wanted tea.
In both cases, she responded by asking to not be contacted and for him to stop. In both cases, he responded to that message with a heart emoticon.
The number the student provided for Meza-Roa matches the number he gave reporters after an interview in January.
Screenshots of messages provided to the AS Review and redacted to protect the former student’s privacy. The number for the Genaro contact matches the one Meza-Roa provided reporters in January. 
Screenshots of messages provided to the AS Review and redacted to protect the former student’s privacy. The number for the Genaro contact matches the one Meza-Roa provided reporters in January.
“It was just this really demeaning string of texts that he was obviously very angry to be rejected and wasn’t going to leave it at that,” her roommate said.
A few weeks later, the former student and her roommate saw Meza-Roa standing in the parking lot outside her window, her roommate said.
When the student met with Barnes, she said she was concerned about him continuing to contact her and finding out where she lived, according to the report. As interim measures, Barnes imposed a no-contact directive and trespassed Meza-Roa from the Fairhaven Housing Complex.
Although Meza-Roa denied any knowledge of anyone seeking a no-contact directive in an earlier interview, the report shows that Barnes contacted him to inform him of the interim sanctions on Nov. 3.
Meza-Roa had no comment when asked about denying any knowledge of the no-contact directive.
The report says the student also met with the Equal Opportunity Office and Consultation and Sexual Assault Support (CASAS). However, while she praised Western’s response as being empathetic and understanding, she did not pursue a further complaint because she had deleted most of the texts from Meza-Roa.
“I chose not to file a formal complaint because I really was not seeking for him to be punished and I wasn’t seeking vengeance or anything like that, but I did want him to leave me alone because it was incredibly distressing the way he was interacting with me,” she said.
Paul Cocke, Western’s director of communications and marketing, declined to make anyone available to confirm the details of the report, even if the student waived her right to privacy. However, her roommate at the time, partner, and counselor confirmed the details of her account in separate interviews. An email from Barnes provided by the student matches the case number included in the report.
After receiving the no-contact directive Meza-Roa stopped contacting her, the student said.
The former student harbored no ill will towards Meza-Roa and decided not to seek legal action against him, she said.
Due to family health issues and the need to recuperate from distressing events involving Meza-Roa, the source decided to move out of the state and back home, she said.
A run-in at Avellino
Before moving out of the state, the source ran into Meza-Roa at Avellino, a coffee shop downtown, on Dec. 8, 2018, the former student said. Meza-Roa was a board member at this time.
In an earlier interview, Meza-Roa confirmed having a recent falling out with someone at Avellino, but declined to comment further.
“[Meza-Roa] expressed his resentment towards me and confusion as to why I obtained a no-contact order,” the student wrote.
Meza-Roa told the former student his views on consent, that resistance was a sign of arousal and women often meant yes when they said no, she said.
The former student sent text messages to her roommate on Dec. 8 detailing these comments made by Meza-Roa, according to the messages provided to the AS Review.
She felt very uncomfortable about his beliefs and disagreed with his statements, she said in an email.
When contacted by the AS Review, Meza-Roa denied making these statements and refused to comment on whether or not he believed those views.
“I don’t believe he understands how consent works, and it seems as though [from] his actions associated with the board that he doesn’t really understand how to respect other human beings very well, at this point,” the former student said, in a later interview.
In separate interviews, the former roommate and the student’s partner confirmed her account.
The former student left her car at Avellino and walked to meet her partner because she didn’t want Meza-Roa to see what kind of car she drove, her partner said.
On the walk back to get her car, she still seemed traumatized from the incident, her partner said.
Looking forward
The former student was unaware when Meza-Roa ran for an AS board position in spring 2018, she said.
She felt compelled to share her story after noticing some discrepancies in the AS Review article, “Meza-Roa Responds to Criticism, Allegations,” she said in an email.
The former student is sharing her story now because she wants others to be aware that Meza-Roa does not seem to understand consent at this point, she said in an email.
“His actions leading up to the recommendation that he is impeached seem to have provided that awareness already. I hope that by sharing what I experienced, I may be able to protect those who are naïve and vulnerable, like I was,” the student said.