20 Pomona College students arrested after occupying administrative building for Palestine
18 students at Pomona College were arrested after staging a sit-in at a campus administrative building to protest the removal of a 'mock apartheid wall.'
18 students at Pomona College were arrested after staging a sit-in at a campus administrative building to protest the removal of a “mock apartheid wall.”
The group, Pomona Divest from Apartheid, held a sit-in with over 150 students at Alexander Hall on April 5, according to the San Bernardino Sun. Some of the protesters were outside of the building or on the steps.
“Stop the killing, stop the slaughter, Gaza has no food or water!” the protesters chanted, along with “Up, up with liberation. Down, down with occupation!”
Claremont police said that around 30-40 protesters entered Alexander Hall.
After ordering protesters to leave, according to the report, 19 students were arrested on trespassing charges, and an additional individual was arrested on charges of obstructing an officer, according to the report. Students from other Claremont Colleges were also at the protest.
Pomona College President Gabi Starr said in an open letter that students who participated in the protest “are subject to immediate suspension.”
Starr wrote that the protesters refused to identify themselves and used an “anti-black racial slur” when talking to an administrator.
”For the past week, masked individuals who are part of a protest have occupied a portion of the Smith Campus Center (SCC) lawn. This occupation was against our policies, but as we have expressed in the past, we work with students who are exercising their right to protest unless that protest impedes on the rights of others,” Starr wrote. “In addition, we require all individuals on campus to identify themselves upon request by campus administrators or Campus Safety. This is imperative for the safety of our community, especially when these individuals are masked.”
”These actions are actively destructive of the values that underpin our community,” she added.
Pomona Divest from Apartheid previously made a mock apartheid wall and occupied an outdoor area of campus, which was taken down by the college The group has also disrupted several campus tours.