Simon Amaya Price, an indie pop/rock/punk artist studying at Berklee College of Music, was simply trying to fulfill the project requirement for his “Songwriting and Social Change” course. His presentation, “Born in the Right Body: Desister and Detransitioner Awareness,” was supposed to take place on October 20 — but it never did.
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The event, with a Q&A afterwards meant to facilitate dialogue, would draw on Amaya Price’s experience as a desister (someone who once identified as trans, but no longer does) to promote awareness about the legal, societal, and medical issues detransitioners and desisters face. But in the face of widespread criticism and a student petition urging the college to cancel the event, college administration indefinitely postponed the event.
Though some found the idea of Amaya Price's event offensive, it is unquestionably protected by Berklee’s commitment to free expression, which prohibits the college from indefinitely postponing an event for viewpoint-discriminatory reasons. Protecting controversial speech is crucial if diverse viewpoints are to be heard, especially when they challenge societal norms.
We urge you to stand with FIRE in telling Berklee to abide by its commitment to free expression. Safeguarding the free speech rights of one of us protects the expression of all of us. Berklee must immediately allow Amaya Price to host his event on campus.
