Identity: the essence of who we are. Identity plays a crucial role in defining us and dictates how we go about our daily lives. It represents the range of experiences we have undergone and influences our every decision. From how we act, to what we value, to the food we eat, identity is irreplaceable and constantly evolving.
Our ethnicity is often at the root of identity, playing a role in our customs and upbringings. It can be diverse, or, in other words, mixed. Luckily, Tufts has a club to honor students with multiethnic backgrounds and identities.
The Association of Mixed People at Tufts is a student organization that creates community for students with mixed backgrounds to bond over their unique experiences. AMPT Co-Head Event Planner and senior Chrystal Coleman emphasized that AMPT serves as a space for anyone who identifies as multicultural in their own way.
“Something that we have pivoted [to] is [that] we don’t ask [what] people’s mixes [are] anymore,” Coleman said. “You could be in a multicultural household and not necessarily be mixed racially or ethnically. So [we’re] trying to broaden those horizons and having people worry less about if they’re mixed enough and just enjoying a space with mixed people.”
AMPT Treasurer and junior Mathilde Vega also highlighted the importance of acknowledging the need for a safe space regardless of one’s connection to ethnicity. Having felt a lack of belonging due to her mixed identity herself, Vega strives to eliminate those doubts for other AMPT members.
“Everybody deserves a space where they feel like they belong 100%,” Vega said. “Everyone [in AMPT] knows what it’s like to feel alienated. We also know what it feels like to be alienated and a woman, or [to be] alienated and queer. There is no wrong way to be [at AMPT], and we find ways to build bridges with each other despite our different cultures.”
In addition to being a community that centers acceptance and belonging, AMPT offers a wide range of experiences that leave a lasting impact on participants. AMPT Co-President and senior Jasmine Lewin relishes in her mixed identity while underscoring the “mix” of activities offered through the club, including craft nights, game nights and insightful discussions.
“We try to host a couple of discussions throughout each semester,” Lewin said. “One of our biggest ones is our Jubilee-like ‘Spectrum [Night]: Do all mixed people think the same?’ [event]. It adds [a] more playful way to talk about more intense subjects. Finding that balance is really nice because … it feels more welcoming and [there’s] less pressure.”
AMPT also branches beyond Tufts, ‘mixing’ with other organizations and schools to create more worthwhile experiences for its members. Lewin noted collaborations with Wellesley College Fusion, the Boston University Mixed Student Union and the Harvard Undergraduate Half Asian People’s Association, as well as collaborations with the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion at Tufts. These partnerships create more holistic experiences through cross-organizational initiatives.
AMPT Community Representative and sophomore Natalie Compare recalled one quintessential AMPT excursion that played a critical role in making AMPT feel like home.
“My favorite memory with AMPT is going to the Loj my [first] year in the fall,” Compare said. “It was the first time that I really felt like AMPT was my club. … We went on some nature walks, played a lot of games, [and got] to know each other.”
Like Coleman and Lewin, Compare cited the AMPT community as one of the club’s highlights.
“I’ve met a lot of good friends [at AMPT],” Compare said. “I think it’s a cool space to connect with other people I might not connect with otherwise.”
AMPT has many other opportunities and events planned for the semester, including a collaboration with the Tufts Latinx Center that will explore the fusion of Chinese and Peruvian cuisine known as “chifa.”
“We have an upcoming collab with the LC that focuses on Chinese immigration in Peru,” Lewin said. “[We’ll focus on] the history behind that, the cultural mixes and the food — ‘chifa’ — that comes out of [it]. That’ll be really cool to focus on these … shared identities and the mixture of cultures.”
This semester, AMPT will also host its signature celebration of food, fusion and fun: Mixtape. Each year, Tufts community members are invited to feast on fusion food and watch various Tufts dance groups perform, celebrating the thriving mixed community and the melting pot we call Tufts University. After all, that is what AMPT is all about: celebrating those pieces of shared culture that exist on Tufts’ campus and beyond.
“There are so many mixed people at Tufts, and I really hope that they join us,” Vega said. “It’s a really welcoming space, it’s really fun, it’s really casual and there’s so much potential to find connection.”
