Feelings of anger and solidarity, calls for retribution, pushes for reconciliation, and allegations of mischaracterization have all been floating around the campus and surrounding neighborhood over the past two days.
Following the Dec. 4 publication of a Viewpoint by Isha Plynton describing an encounter with racism at the Diva Lounge in Davis Square, various reactions to her experience have emerged.
Many Tufts students have called for some kind of action in response, although the exact methods have varied, whereas the Lounge has denied responsibility for the event and called for reconciliation.
In the Viewpoint, Plynton described a Nov. 18 encounter with an intoxicated woman who harassed her and a group of friends.
The woman referred to Plynton, who is black, and some of her six friends, two of whom are also black, as "n-s,"
peppering them with insults.
Plynton wrote that she reported this to the management, but that the manager and owner were largely unresponsive and unsympathetic.
She wrote that they refused to evict the woman, the foster sister of Diva Lounge Supervisor Randi Baxter, from the establishment and that some of her friends were simply told "money is money" by the owner.
Baxter said that no such remark was made and also disputed other parts of Plynton's account.
While she admitted that her foster sister, while under the influence, made the remarks in question, she maintained that the management acted appropriately.
She said that she told the perpetrator to pay her bill and then kicked her out of the Lounge.
"We weren't trying to shrug the situation off in any way," she said. "We were trying to deal with it the best [we] could."
Baxter said the incident made her "sick to my stomach."
Contrary to what Plynton wrote in her Viewpoint, Baxter said that Diva Lounge does not support racist behavior. "If it was an employee, I would have fired them," she said. Because it was a customer, she said that she did what she could by barring her from the Lounge.
She said that the incident, while unfortunate, is not the fault of the Diva Lounge. "You can't hold us accountable for something that somebody with ignorance said," she said.
Still, many Tufts students have taken the event as a catalyst, some for increased action and some for increased discussion.
Shortly after the Viewpoint was published, sophomore Vincient Booker formed a Facebook.com group called "A Call to Action: Racism at Diva Lounge".
In the group, which at press time had over 350 members, Booker initially called for a sit-in at the Diva Lounge, but changed his position after a discussion with the victims.
Plynton said that she and her companions that night were unaware of the Facebook group until after it was formed.
"When they started the Facebook group...I wasn't even aware of what was going on," Plynton, who was never even invited to join the group, said.
"We just found out through casual friends that this is what was going on and they were using our names."
Upon finding out, she said that she informed Booker that she did not support the sit-in because a complaint had already been filed to organizations, including the Somerville Human Rights Commission, and because she was unsure of its legality.
Since then, most of the discussion about the event has focused on the need for increased dialogue within the Tufts and Somerville communities about racism.
According to Booker, there is a need to focus on the "overall bigger issues dealing with community relations."
Plynton agreed. "Racism is still alive and I feel like it's something a lot of people don't talk about," she said.
Booker said that people are usually only concerned with racism when it affects people of their race or ethnicity, but should be encouraged to focus more on the general problem.
To that end, he hopes to foster dialogue through the newly formed group A Call to Action (ACT) and already has tentative plans for a meeting and rally on Friday.
According to Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Mitch Robinson, the TCU Senate is also aware of the incident and said that the group will discuss it at their next meeting and will take some form of action, whether through a resolution or other means.
"Things like this the Senate doesn't stand silent on. There's going to be some actions," Robinson said.
He said that the Senate should help bring about lasting changes in the community rather than just respond with anger.
"What we want is a change in the atmosphere and that starts by getting a broad base of support which I know we have in the city of Somerville," he said.
Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman said that the administration also knows about the incident and will look into it.
Administrators will have a "conversation with the students about what they would like to see happen," he said.
In the midst of this outcry and concerns from students, Baxter said that she is in the process of seeking reconciliation with the students involved.
She said that her foster sister is still banned from the establishment and that she is pressing her to apologize.
She also said that the incident, while incredibly unfortunate, is not characteristic of the Lounge.
"Everybody's more than welcome to be here, no matter what your race," she said.
