Protesters on Sixth Street.
On Monday, October 7th, hundreds of students across the Claremont Colleges participated in a walkout to demand that the colleges divest from companies associated with Israel. The protest culminated in the occupation of Pomona College’s Carnegie Hall, disrupting classes and restricting movement into and out of the building.
The date marks the anniversary of Hamas' surprise attack that claimed the lives of 1,200 Israelis and left another 250 taken hostage. In response, Israel launched an ongoing counterattack which has killed approximately 40,000 people according to the Gaza Health Ministry, a Hamas-controlled organization.
Starting at 10:07, an homage to the anniversary date, students walked out of classes. As they walked out, instructions distributed to participating students directed them to announce:
"Hello, today, Oct. 7th marks one year since israel’s [sic] intensified genocide in Gaza. While we attend class, israel [sic] has destroyed all universities in Gaza and is invading Lebanon. I am walking-out of class to rally with the 60+ student orgs demanding Pomona divest from weapons manufacturers, because there can be no business as usual during genocide. Join me and walk-out---there’s safety in numbers."
They were then directed to start chanting, “Claremont students come outside, stop funding genocide,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Streams of protesters from different campuses convened at the intersection of 6th Street and N. College Ave., forming a group of several hundred. Most wore black clothing, masks, and head coverings. A training presentation obtained by the Independent directs students to “[cover] up completely (hair, face, arms, legs), we should not be able to recognize you AT ALL.”
Students then marched south to Carnegie Hall, flooding in through the front entrance. Two administrators briefly attempted to block the doors and ID scanner, but were overwhelmed by the mass of protesters. One Campus Safety official was injured as the students poured in, rolling her ankle. Organizers announced over megaphones that “Today this is a People’s University for Palestine,” and that demonstrators would be leaving at 4:00 P.M.
Inside, students chanted while organizers handed out pamphlets. Lead organizers commandeered multiple classrooms to lead “teach-in” sessions for participants.
A list of approved chants obtained by the Independent includes “Intifada intifada, LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA,” “Hey hey ho ho! iSRAEL [sic] HAS GOT TO GO,” and We don't want two states, WE WANT ‘48!”
Ongoing classes were disrupted by the loud chanting from the hallways. One professor told their class, “We can’t really have class right now, you are welcome to leave.” A Pomona student who requested anonymity attempted to leave the classroom, but “we couldn’t leave because they were in the building blocking the doors and everything. I wasn’t going to walk through the middle of it… I wouldn’t have felt very safe walking through hundreds of people yelling things that [I] especially as a Jewish student don’t align with or feel safe around.” Video shows several students exiting through open windows on the second floor, walking along a narrow piece of siding to exit the building
Photos from inside the building show graffiti reading “INTIFADA,” the Arabic word for “uprising” or “rebellion,” spray painted on walls, inside the elevators, and over the carpeting. Protesters also cut electrical cords inside classrooms, sliced a projector screen, and spray-painted over a bust of William Johnson, a former Pomona trustee.
After students had filed in, several stationed themselves at the exits to prevent others from entering. Zip-ties were placed on the front doors, locking them from the inside. Around 12:30, one Independent writer attempted to enter through the back entrance and had to squeeze his way through a group of six students locking arms to keep him out. Pomona administrators notified the students that they were in violation of college policy, but made no attempts to break up the groups blocking entrance to the building. When asked by college officials to identify themselves, they remained silent.
Around 3:20, protesters stationed at the back entrance began playing loud Arabic music and taping posters to the doors. Pomona administrators reached inside to tear them down, telling students that they needed to be able to see inside the building.
Students had steadily trickled out of the building since noon, leaving only several dozen occupants by 3:30. Around 3:40, the remaining students congregated at the back entrance and left without being identified by Campus Safety.
Pomona professor Bowman Cutter also departed around this time. He had been working in his office in Carnegie Hall that morning, but told the Independent that when he briefly stepped out of his office “they wouldn’t let me back in… They did push and shove---it was light, but I think any contact is not acceptable on campus…. My phone was in my office, so I couldn’t really leave campus… People were pretty nasty for two or three hours, intermittently, then it seemed like people got bored but they never left the stairwell until just right now. And then I finally got my stuff.”
At 5:30, Pomona administrators Jeff Roth, Avis Hinkson, and Y. Melanie Wu sent an email to the student body condemning the protests:
"This violation of our community is disgraceful, especially on this day of mourning. Pomona is better than this."
"This is a community of learning, and when individuals violate the rights of others to learn, or to teach, or simply to do their jobs, there are consequences. 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. We will not, however, be commenting on individual cases."
"Classes held at Carnegie Hall were disrupted today and had to be moved. High school students visiting campus and participating in the Perspectives on Pomona (POP, a special initiative for high school students from underrepresented communities to introduce them to Pomona College) had to be relocated. Protesters 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. "
"Due to extensive damage, Carnegie Hall will remain closed until further notice, and classes will be relocated. Information will be forthcoming for faculty and students with classes scheduled in the building."
"We are committed to our educational mission, and to providing an environment where all our students can learn and flourish alongside our faculty and staff."
Today’s demonstration was the first major protest action since last April’s sit-in inside Pomona’s Alexander Hall, which saw 19 students arrested and charged with trespassing.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated as more information emerges.
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