Nearly 50 freshmen from Chinatown's only public high school, the Josiah Quincy Upper School, were hosted by members of the Peace and Justice Studies class Active Citizenship in an Urban Community at Tufts' campus on Friday.
The objective of the visit was to expose the students to college early in their academic careers.
"I learned you don't have to be afraid of going to college," Terrance Hines, a freshman at John Quincy Upper School, said. "Don't worry about money and try to get to your goal ... you have to care."
Visiting students, led by group leaders, searched with a scavenger hunt to get familiar with the campus, made buttons at the Crafts House, listened in on a Q&A session about college life, enjoyed a performance by BEATS, and finished with a performance of their own impromptu rap songs.
Professor Jean Wu, who teaches the class, said that seeing a college first-hand is important because many may be the first in their family to attend college with many parents as first-generation immigrants.
"No one will be there with you," she said. "It's your name, your number, your grade. You got to care."
Many of the high school students expressed concern that they may not be able to get into a school with such rigorous academic standards as Tufts.
"Do 'D's matter?" asked Jackie Lin of admissions requirements. She was met with advice from group leaders to stay focused.
The class, which will next semester be called Civic Engagement in Boston Chinatown: Race, Culture, Power and Politics, is a dual-semester course which seeks to involve Tufts students in communities around the Tufts campus.
Students work with local organizations including the Chinese Progressive Association, Asian Community Development, the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center and the Josiah Quincy Upper School in an effort to better understand the complex social issues surrounding environmental racism, gentrification, public health and public education and to form a closer relationship between the Tufts and Chinatown communities.
Wu said that there are no prerequisites for the course, and freshman through seniors are enrolled. Students work every week in non-profit organizations and meet for a weekly seminar.
The class culminates in a final presentation with recommendations by students to the organizations on how they can further improve their community activity.
There will be no formal follow-up event to last Friday's program, but the Tufts students currently working at John Quincy Upper School will continue to work there and meet with the same students throughout the year.
