Boston, MA
Boston music school cancels ex-transgender college student’s awareness presentation
A student at Berklee College of Music who reconnected with his biological sex after identifying as transgender says he and Congressman Seth Moulton “poked the same beehive” after the school canceled a presentation on his lived experience.
Simon Amaya Price, a 20-year-old Bostonian set to graduate from Berklee in December, looked to share his “Born in the Right Body: Desister and Detransitioner Awareness” presentation on campus last month before officials postponed it indefinitely.
Amaya Price told the Herald that the decision came as a shock, especially after he secured funding through the school’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion and permission to use the office’s logo in advertisements.
Amaya Price, who identified as transgender from age 14 until age 17, received an email from the college’s vice president and executive director, Ron Savage, stating: “Congratulations on your upcoming event. What a tremendous leadership step in organizing this Event.”
Classmates and people from outside the school blasted Amaya Price when he made an initial post about the talk scheduled for Oct. 20, just days before. They also slammed Berklee officials for approving the presentation.
“When I talk about this topic with most people, they tell me they’ve never even heard of desisters and detransitioners,” Amaya Price wrote in his post. “As a desister myself, I find this worrying and I have decided to organize an event this Sunday to raise awareness about this community.”
A desister is “someone who previously identified as transgender but later re-identified with their biological sex before undergoing medical intervention,” while a detransitioner is “someone who was once transgender but no longer identifies as such.”
Backlash
When he woke up the next morning around 400 “overwhelmingly negative” comments greeted him on his Instagram post, “many of them threatening, many of them hateful,” Amaya Price told the Herald on Friday.
One commenter told Amaya Price that he should be “TERRIFIED” and another threatened to “throw expired groceries” at him. Dozens referenced how they felt he was “transphobic.”
A student-led online petition collected 1,998 signatures urging officials to shut down the event, which organizers claimed would “harm the mental well-being of individuals in the transgender community.”
Amaya Price and his father, Gareth Amaya Price, met with Savage on Oct. 17, with the student accepting a recommendation to postpone the Oct. 20 presentation due to safety reasons amid the turmoil.
Just days later, the student and father met with Savage again about plans to find another date and venue for the talk, but the vice president called it off “indefinitely,” Simon Amaya Price said.
“For events on campus, our first priority is always safety,” a college spokesperson told the Herald on Saturday. “The event you reference was postponed due to safety and other logistical concerns shared by both the student responsible for planning the event and the institution.”
New avenue
Through networking and advocacy, Amaya Price will be hosting his presentation, which he said is a project for a “Songwriting and Social Change” course, at MIT on Nov. 24.
He said he worked with MIT Open Discourse Society, an independent group, and received support from Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender in getting it moved and rescheduled.
“Talking to a lot of people who will engage with me in good faith,” Amaya Price said, “their issue is with the existence and legitimacy of desisters and detransitioners.”
“My experience at Berklee is not the exception,” he added. “At our elite institutions, people with dissenting views are really afraid to speak up. … We can do better as a society and we should do better. This is a real problem.”
Amaya Price said he “completely” supports Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton’s post-election comments that Dems were “out of touch with the American people,” especially on transgender issues, which drew a sharp rebuke from critics.
Moulton, telling the New York Times that he doesn’t want his daughters getting “run over on the playing field by a male or formerly male athlete,” has blamed his party for the Republican red wave and Donald Trump’s victory.
“This gender ideology is right in our schools. It should not be compulsory in the way that it is,” Amaya Price said. “We should embrace diversity of thought.”
His father, who identified himself as a Democrat, also agreed with Moulton’s comments, saying that he worries about the party’s future if it continues to reject differing viewpoints.
“What surprised me is that the administration would just fold in the face of this pressure,” he said. “That they would show no backbone, no support for alternate points of view and diversity of opinion that is already present at this school.”
Slides on Amaya Price’s initial post about his presentation stated: “What happens when you realize you were wrong about being trans?” and “Minors can’t consent to a tattoo but can consent to elective, life-altering surgeries.”
Commenters called the student out for spreading “misinformation.”
Per Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, minors have the right to “access gender-affirming health care” with permission from a parent or legal guardian.
In some instances, though, parental consent is unnecessary if a “doctor believes you are mature enough to give informed consent to the treatment, and it is in your best interest not to notify your parents,” Campbell’s office states.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national nonprofit that defends free speech, has advocated for Amaya Price. Earlier this month, the organization wrote a letter to Berklee Interim President David Bogen urging him to rescind the postponement.
“Critics of the event argue that offensive speech should be silenced because it could, ironically, undermine their own voices,” FIRE wrote in a blog post. “However, in doing so, they fail to recognize what true silencing looks like.”
Amaya Price, who lives with his parents in Boston, said he was diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” in high school while he felt “out of touch” with his body and started questioning whether he was truly transgender or not.
After a year at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a liberal arts school in Great Barrington, where he met “lots of other transgenders,” Amaya Price said he withdrew because he felt he didn’t in well.
That’s also when he said he started to detransition. Over the past few years, he admitted he’s grown comfortable with himself.
“We’re failing a lot of young people who suffer from gender dysphoria medically right now because they are not getting the help that they need,” Amaya Price said, “and the help that we’re often giving them is exactly the opposite of what would be good for them.
Herald file photo
The Berklee School of Music on Massachusetts Avenue (Jim Michaud / MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
As we reckon with summer’s departure, there are a variety of fun-filled events to welcome the first signs of fall. Visit two “carnivals,” each with its own twist: huzzah and hurrah with medieval jest at the Brighton Bazaar’s Knight Carnival or tinker and test interactive exhibits at the Cambridge Science Carnival. Also, Somerville celebrates its prized, local invention, Marshmallow Fluff, with the 20th annual Fluff Festival, complete with sticky games and extra sugary challenges.
Here are six no-cost activities and events for the week of Sept. 15-21, as well as two ways to save on the arts this season.
BOOK LOVERS UNITE If a book club had a silent disco equivalent, it might be the Boston Figurative Art Center’s BYOBook event. Unlike a traditional book club, everyone brings whatever book they’re currently reading to a guided discussion with fellow readers from 7-7:30 p.m. After, attendees are welcomed to read as they please on the studio’s couches or lounge area. Snacks and beverages from the studio will be available. Sept. 17, 7-9 p.m. Boston Figurative Art Center, 285 Washington St., Somerville. bostonfac.com
KNIGHT MARKET The Brighton Bazaar, in collaboration with roving merchant curators Medieval Merriment, will transform into the first-ever Knight Carnival for a night of Middle Ages-themed mischief. Immerse yourself in a live sword fight between armored knights from local melee club North Horde, a creature puppet show, fantasy-inspired musicians, a site-wide scavenger hunt, and a costume contest for attendees dressed in their Ren Faire best. If you have gold in your inventory to spend, vendors will be selling trinkets all night. Sept. 18, 5-10 p.m. Charles River Speedway, 525 Western Ave., Brighton. facebook.com/thebrightonbazaar
AUTUMN LEAVES The Boston Landing Fall Crawl celebrates the arrival of the season with a reptile show with snakes and lizards, pony rides, and pumpkin decorating. DJ Dukes will play a live set from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and country singer Louis Bello will pick up from 2-4 p.m. Meanwhile, from noon-2 p.m., attendees can join a line dancing lesson. Churros are on the house (while supplies last), and barbecue eats and other Southern staples will be available for purchase. Sept. 20, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Boston Landing, 92 Guest St. bostonlanding.co
MARSHMALLOW MADNESS Don’t expect to come out of this one clean: Somerville, the birthplace of Marshmallow Fluff, celebrates this sticky-sweet legacy with the 20th annual Fluff Festival. In addition to live music and entertainment, the event will host unique games for prizes, including Fluff jousting, where participants use pool noodles with Fluff to knock others off a balance beam, and a Fluff hair-styling contest, where Fluff and Teddy peanut butter are provided for contestants to style the best ’do. .Attendees who arrive by cycle can access two free bike valets — one in front of Gracie’s Ice Cream and another by the intersection of Somerville Avenue and School Street. The fest is free to attend, but marshmallow-y foods and drinks will be available for purchase. Sept. 20, 2-6 p.m. 366 Somerville Ave., Somerville. flufffestival.com
UP, UP, AND AWAY The City of Quincy celebrates its 400th birthday with a Hot Air Balloon and Laser Light Show at Merrymount Park. On Pageant Field, attendees can play lawn games or journey 60 feet in the air in tethered hot air balloons. Meanwhile, roving costumed performers and food trucks can be found on Adams Field. At 9 p.m., the laser show begins, projecting streams and beams onto the overhead balloons and trees. Sept. 20, 4-10 p.m. Merrymount Park, Quincy. Reserve free balloon ride vouchers on the event’s website. quincy400.com
SCIENTIFIC WONDERS More than 150 booths showcasing STEAM’s finest (and most fun) will occupy the 17th annual Cambridge Science Carnival. Visit a robot petting zoo — featuring robots of the underwater, basketball, and gummy bear varieties — check out hands-on booths to make stomp rockets, sugar glass, or bath bombs. Members of the MIT Physics Department will perform demonstrations at 1 and 3:15 p.m., and the hosts of the “Tumble Science” children’s podcast will perform interactive songs at 1:45 p.m. Sept. 21, noon-4 p.m. Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St., Cambridge. cambridgesciencecarnival.org
Deals and Steals
FINE FOR FIVE Starting Sept. 18, the Museum of Fine Arts kicks off its $5 Third Thursdays programming. On the third Thursday of each month, from 5-10 p.m., general admission is pay-as-you-wish with a $5 minimum. A crisp Lincoln grants access to the main galleries, as well as special after dark programming exclusive to each event — this month is Latinx Heritage Night featuring drop-in art sessions to make Puerto Rican beaded bracelets and Ex-Votos paintings, live sets by the Rafa Moreno Band and DJ Montro, and special spotlight talks and guided tours. mfa.org
SYMPHONY SEASON PASS Full-time Boston students with a valid college ID can take study breaks with an (award-winning) symphony when they purchase a $20 H+H Masterpass. The exclusive pass can be redeemed to access up to eight Handel and Haydn Society performances through the 2025-26 season. (Some exclusions apply.) handelandhaydn.org/concerts-tickets/masterpass
Check individual event websites for the most up-to-date information.
Send info on free events and special offers at least 10 days in advance to ryan.yau@globe.com.
Ryan Yau can be reached at ryan.yau@globe.com.
Walker Buehler’s Red Sox tenure came to an unceremonious end on August 29 when he was released to clear a roster spot for top prospect Payton Tolle to make his major league debut. His Phillies tenure, however, got off to a pretty good start Friday night.
Buehler, who signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia within a couple days of Boston cutting him, got the start at Citizens Bank Park against the Royals and delivered, holding Kansas City to one run on five hits while striking out three batters and walking just one in five innings. Philadelphia, won, 8-2, and Buehler got the win, marking his first such result since August 8, when he turned in one of his best performances in a Red Sox uniform and tossed six shutout innings in San Diego.
For Buehler, who owned a 5.45 ERA in 112 ⅓ innings for Boston, it was the third outing since July 1 in which he didn’t issue multiple walks. In 23 games (22 starts) for Boston, he issued free passes at a rate of 4.4 per nine innings. He also allowed 22 home runs.
The Phillies added Buehler to the mix in an effort to give their top starters — Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola — some extra chances to rest down the stretch. For now, he’s slotting into Philadelphia’s rotation as a sixth option, but he could serve a bullpen role come October if he’s pitching well and manager Rob Thomson wants to try to tap into the playoff magic Buehler has provided throughout his career. The 31-year-old, who recorded the final out of the World Series last fall at Yankee Stadium, has a career 3.04 postseason ERA in 19 appearances and has pitched three times in the World Series.
“He fits right into that mold of being a Philadelphia baseball player,” Buehler’s new teammate, Bryce Harper said, according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. “Just a lot of fun to be around him. Obviously, he’s pitched in big moments, deep into the postseason. So getting a guy like that in our clubhouse is huge for us. And he went out there and did a great job tonight.”
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