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  WINDY CITY TIMES

Gay reality-star student Matt Sarafa battles Brown University
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2016-03-23

This article shared 6537 times since Wed Mar 23, 2016
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Reality-show personality Matt Sarafa made it work with two Lifetime Channel programs, first in show called Threads and then Project Runway Junior. While he wasn't able to make it work and win the competition he obviously had a good time playing the game.

His next step was continuing his education, and he began applying to colleges. His admissions interview for Brown University went awry as he witnessed possible anti-gay and racist comments from the interviewer. He posted about the experience on his YouTube video, garnering a large amount of hits from his followers.

Windy City Times: Hi, Matt. First, tell our readers a little about yourself.

Matt Sarafa: I just turned 18 and I am from Manhattan Beach, California. I'm gay and I want to be a fashion designer. I was just on Project Runway Junior that aired in November of last year. That was a lovely experience.

Right now, I am a senior in high school. I am in the process of applying to colleges. This unfortunate interview with Brown University happened in January of this year.

WCT: How did you wind up on Project Runway Junior?

MS: I was first on Lifetime's Threads back in 2014. That was a watered down version of Project Runway with only one episode. When I found out it would be a full season with Project Runway Junior I knew I wanted to do that. I got a taste on Threads but wanted the whole experience. I was super-excited to be one of the 12 and we filmed over the summer for six weeks in New York. It was a great experience.

WCT: Did you like how it turned out?

MS: Yes, it was a positive and uplifting experience. We supported each other and the editing was done in a good way.

WCT: Do they have a fashion department at Brown University?

MS: No, they don't. My family wants me to have a well-rounded education so that is what I am going into college for originally. I could go into a program at Fashion Institute of Technology or Parsons [School of Design] to study fashion afterward. I would like to get a regular degree in business or even gender studies. I have a YouTube channel, so I love film and being a creator.

WCT: Explain what happened in your interview at Brown.

MS: I applied at Brown university and went in for an interview day for the applicants to find out more about the school. Basically, I experienced a lot of discrimination at the interview. The man said, "We don't want your kind here" then went on to say very derogatory things about Asians. He said, "The Orientals only work in Chinese restaurants or laundromats."

The most disturbing part for me was the reaction that Brown took. They have not done very much in fixing the situation. I received a half-hearted apology and they told me this man would continue interviewing people, that they would do nothing to punish him or make sure that it doesn't happen again.

That was when I knew I wanted to withdraw my application because I don't want to go to a school where they are not doing something about a problem as big as this. I am a huge advocate for myself and the gay community. I knew I had to make a video about it.

WCT: Did you ask him what he meant by "your kind?"

MS: No; I was in shock because he said it when I had just sat down. I was trying to stay a professional as possible so I thought if we just keep going with the interview maybe he had misspoken or something. After all of the awful things he said later then I assumed he meant me being gay.

WCT: Was the interviewer possibly a volunteer that they can't fire?

MS: He's an [alumnus of] the school so I think he is probably a volunteer, but they haven't taken any action to keep him from interviewing other people. I feel they are wrong. This man was either not trained well or not an ideal interviewer for potential applicants for the school.

WCT: One wouldn't think they would want him representing the school in that way.

MS: Exactly, because to me he was the face of the school. I was talking to him to get a greater understanding of the school. He told me that the school is not diverse and my kind is not welcome there so that is the impression that I left the interview with.

WCT: Maybe they will see your video.

MS: I hope so. I have been contacted by the Brown student newspaper but I have not been contacted by the administration. I contacted everyone that I could but only heard back from one woman who was the director of alumni admissions. She said she was sorry it happened and took no other actions.

Hopefully, the video grows; today it had more than 80,000 views, and the word will get out there. I want to get a response from Brown and make sure this doesn't happen again.

WCT: Have you looked into legal action?

MS: I haven't looked into that yet. A lot of people have been telling me that might be an option.

I don't want to make this about myself because I am thinking about it in terms about what happened to me. I just think about what could happen if someone else goes through that interview process and is more scared to speak up than I am.

I feel like I have to use my voice and the platform that Project Runway Junior gave me to make a change. I hope this brings some sort of difference to Brown University.

[Editor's note: Windy City Times ( through reporter Jerry Nunn ) asked Brown University for a response. Brown University Director of News and Editorial Development Brian E. Clark answered with the following reply:

Thanks for offering us the chance to respond.

First, I should explain that Brown is not at liberty to identify individual applicants in an admission process. It's important that comments attributed to Brown not imply that we identified any individual applicant. Therefore, Brown can speak of "a high school applicant," without using the applicant's name, regardless of how public the applicant has been about applying to Brown and the status of that application.

We were deeply troubled to learn of the characterization of the experience reported by the high school student interested in attending Brown—an experience that does not reflect in any way the University's commitment to being a welcoming, diverse and inclusive community. At the same time, there seem to be some discrepancies in the account of events shared with you. We apologized to the applicant multiple times—in telephone conversations and in writing—for the incident. And we reached out to urge continued interest in Brown, and for the applicant to consider a second interview. The case remained under review at the time the applicant created his video, but we also had followed up with the alumni interviewer ( who no longer is conducting interviews ), and we are refining our training processes.

Our Alumni Interviewing Program involves 9,000 alumni volunteers across the globe who conduct upwards of 30,000 interviews annually. We have found that the vast majority of those interactions are productive, enjoyable, and helpful for both the students and for Brown. In the very rare circumstance when a student or counselor informs us that an interview has been unproductive or uncomfortable, it is our policy—as we have done in this instance—to contact the student, his or her counselor, the interviewer, and the area alumni/ae interviewing chair to discuss the interview and to take a series of actions, ranging from conversations with the interviewer about appropriate interviewing protocols to a decision to no longer engage the volunteer interviewer. Again, this is rare. To my knowledge, this is the first report of an incident of this kind in a decade or more.

In our training for interviewers we emphasize the need for every student to be treated with respect and dignity throughout the interview process. Building a campus community that is fully diverse and inclusive is absolutely central to Brown's values. The University just last month released "Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for Brown University," which articulates a detailed vision for how Brown can develop best practices and serve as a leader in promoting more just, diverse and inclusive communities. We are committed to ensuring the Alumni Interviewing Program reflects the values and ideals of Brown.]

To watch Sarafa's video, visit YouTube.com/makeupbymatt and follow him on MattSarafa.com .


This article shared 6537 times since Wed Mar 23, 2016
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