Tuition Money and Legal Fees Fund

On December 15th, 2018, I was racially profiled at the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) on Penn State's campus. As an RA, it was my responsibility to stay in the dorms until all of my residents left for winter break. I was the last person allowed in the dorms and once I left, no one, including myself, could get back in. Because of this, I was forced to bring my suitcase to the BJC. I arrived after the winter graduation ceremony ended. I was simply there to fulfill a photography assignment for one of my clients; a fresh graduate. All I had was my camera bag, a suitcase, my comfy clothes, and a bus ticket for a 6:00 Greyhound. I approached Gate A with my camera bag, leaving my suitcase a few feet behind me. My camera bag was searched and I was permitted to enter. I then pointed to my suitcase and asked if I could bring that inside. I explained my reasoning for having a suitcase: I'm an RA, the dorms closed, I do not have a car, I have nowhere to put it. She told me that it looked suspicious and that I would not be allowed to bring it inside. I never attempted to physically bring my bag inside. I brought it a little closer to the building to get it out of the light drizzle that had begun to fall. I then asked the officer where Gate D was so that I could quickly get my client, and return to my suitcase. I did just that. 5 minutes later, I returned to Gate A with my client and my suitcase was gone. I asked the campus police who was still manning the door if she had been nice enough to take my suitcase inside for me. She said, "yes, follow me." She then walked me into a room and then followed the official police officers. 


After explaining that I had nowhere to take my bag and that I needed to quickly retrieve my photography clients, the campus police reported me as a "skinny black female who's gender was at first, unclear, acting suspiciously" to the official police. The police then used this as an excuse to search my suitcase without my consent and most importantly, without a warrant. When asked in court why they performed a warrantless search, they claimed to have  "exigent circumstances," citing the Boston Marathon Bombings as a reason to be suspicious of my suitcase. In short, they said that I could have been terrorist so they did not feel the need to get a warrant. Yet the officer that searched my bag that was under the suspicion of containing a bomb testified to having no no formal training in explosives. He did not call in anyone who did have any expertise in terrorist threats. In fact, he didn't even move my suitcase away from the masses of people as he searched it. If he truly had reason to believe that I was a terrorist, these careless actions would have been obvious, fatal mistakes.

His careless actions show that he did not truly believe me to be a terrorist. He simply needed to cover his mistake of preforming a warrantless search of a students personal property. So he framed me, the non-threatening, 19 year old, female, RA, as a potential terrorist. 

The officer did not find a bomb. Instead, he found marijuana edibles, a grinder, and a joint. He was looking for a bomb with no bomb specialist in sight and in the  middle of a massive crowd. And instead, he found marijuana. I was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. I was suspended and have only recently been let back into the university, however, because I now have a criminal record, I lost my RA position that paid for my room and board, I lost my financial aid, I lots my ability to be approved for student loans, I lost close to all chances of receiving a scholarship, so on and so forth. 

I lost all of this because I was in possession of marijuana, something that is decriminalized in my state and that I now currently have a prescription for (I have a diagnosed history of anxiety and now have my medical card). 

To top everything off, I was banned from campus in combination with Covid so I wasn't able to fulfill my photography assignments that I typically  use as supplementary income.  I’m taking advantage of this period of communal love by asking my Black community for sympathy and donations to my college fund  I have 2 semesters left before I graduate! I have been extremely successful as a Penn State student. In sum, I have served on 5 executive boards, taught 3 classes, been nominated for 2 and won 1 award, organized a successful protest, designed multiple websites, created a successful freelancing business, all while achieving academic excellence as noted by my spot on the dean lists and a 3.7 GPA. Getting out of the city and being introduced to the world enlightened me to my abilities as an intellectual and a creator. I just need your help finishing everything that I've started. 


Donations cover two semesters of PSU tuition, lawyer fees and court fees. 

10k per semester
5k court Fees
8k Lawyer Fees
Any overage goes towards books, supplies, and living
(B/T this and Venmo, we are at 21k. Keep it going!)

Thank you all for your support