Pomona College protesters face discipline for trashing campus
The students ‘obstructed entrances, didn’t allow entrance and egress, zip-tied doors, and the building, classrooms and offices with graffiti as well as destroying AV equipment.’
‘We will not permit individuals, whether our students or others, to violate our policies and our community,’ the administration warned.
Pomona College in Claremont, California recently disciplined students who were involved in a destructive anti-Israel protest on campus on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre.
The school temporarily suspended 10 students who participated in the Oct. 7 protest.
School president G. Gabrielle Starr suspended 10 of the activists, and the administration warned that other punishments could include “expulsion” and “being banned from campus.”
[RELATED: Pro-Hamas protesters battle with police outside relocated Pomona graduation]
On the day of the protest, Pomona’s leadership sent an announcement to the campus community, informing readers that the protesters had occupied Carnegie Hall on campus, something that school leaders called “disgraceful.”
The damage caused to Carnegie Hall was “extensive.” The protesters had “obstructed entrances, didn’t allow entrance and egress, zip-tied doors, and the building, classrooms and offices with graffiti as well as destroying AV equipment.” Besides the vandalism, the activists also physically attacked others and “injured a campus safety officer.” Those involved were “dressed to conceal their identity.”
School president G. Gabrielle Starr revealed that most of the activists who invaded Carnegie Hall “[were] not Pomona students,” and called the activists’ behavior “unacceptable.”
The administration stated its intention to discipline those responsible: “We will not permit individuals, whether our students or others, to violate our policies and our community. We have initial identification of several people involved, including a number of individuals from other campuses. As we identify others, disciplinary letters will be sent on a rolling basis. The individuals responsible face sanctions that may include restitution, suspension, expulsion, as well as being banned from campus.”
The demonstrations at the school were not just limited to Carnegie Hall. The school stated that the fall semester saw “escalating acts of harassment and intimidation carried out against College faculty, staff, and students,” including “protests and vandalism in the late hours of the night outside the President’s house” and harassment of the college’s Trustees.
Before the invasion of Carnegie Hall, the demonstrators also “vandalized campus areas including Alexander Hall, student Amazon lockers and dining areas.”
Pomona previously announced that it would implement new measures to preempt potentially disruptive protests.
“ID cards will be required to access buildings, new dedicated campus safety staff have been added, and policies regarding no encampments or similarly disruptive activities will be strictly enforced,” the school announced.
Anyone who violates school policy could face “internal disciplinary process and citation, detention and arrest by law enforcement,” Pomona warned.
Campus Reform has contacted Pomona College for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
