VOICES
MISS It was the afternoon of October 18, 2022, five months after I had graduated from the Masters of Fine Arts program at the School at the Museum of Fine Arts. It was my day off from work, so I wasn’t expecting anyone to come to my house, yet someone knocked at my apartment door. I opened it to find two Tufts University Police Department officers wearing regular black suits. They served me a “No Trespass Order.” It states that I am “forbidden to enter any property owned by or under the control of Tufts University”—otherwise I will be arrested. They did not give me any explanation, and when I asked for one, they told me to contact the police chief myself. Right after TUPD left, I closed the door and broke down. I felt severely threatened because the TUPD officers knew where I lived and could come to my home unannounced. I never contacted the 6 TUFTS OBSERVER MARCH 6, 2023
SMFA
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police chief to ask why, because I know the university has always seen me as a threat. Since the day I arrived in Boston, I have been navigating my sense of security while coping with the power that Tufts/SMFA had over my life. As an SMFA graduate student, I came in excited to learn about and make art. I was not expecting to deal with so much discrimination. By week one of fall 2020, my first year, I was already hearing racist and transphobic remarks from a group of white students at the SMFA. After I arrived, their attention shifted to me. When my white housemate brought someone from this group to our shared home, I expressed that I felt unsafe with that individual in our home and would appreciate having boundaries implemented in order for everyone to feel safe, such as being informed when the individual would come
over or not inviting them back. This seemingly fair request from me unfortunately created tension with the housemate that then spiraled into aggressive accusations. I felt the school ended up siding with them without having any proof. For my safety, I ultimately decided to use my financial aid to help me move out. The same group of white students continued to terrorize trans students and students of color. When the students who faced discrimination made art about these experiences in their designated studio spaces, the former dean of SMFA asked them to stop. When we then advocated for changes to protect us, the administration told us to keep our heads down and graduate. Throughout my first year, I had countless meetings with the administration, but they led to very little to no change and distracted me from being a student.
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