Protesters block the back door of Carnegie Hall.
On Wednesday, October 25, Pomona President Gabi Starr issued a statement regarding the suspensions of those involved in the October 7 takeover of Carnegie Hall. Of the 12 students placed on interim suspensions for violating the Claremont Colleges Demonstration Policy, ten have been fully suspended for the remainder of the academic year. They will be unable to return to classes or campus until the fall of 2025.
Normally, their cases would have been heard by Pomona’s Judicial Council (commonly known as JBoard), a student panel guided by a “restorative practices” approach. However, the Pomona College Student Code allows for Starr to bypass the Judicial Council for events that “threaten safety of individuals on campus, involve the destruction of College property, and the disruption of Pomona’s educational process.” Citing this provision, Starr issued the suspensions without a Judicial Council hearing.
For other 5C students involved in the protest, Pomona has banned those identified from campus. If students wish to appeal, they have received instructions on the process. As Starr noted in her October 11 statement, the majority of students involved in the protest did not attend Pomona.
Starr condemned the October 7 occupation, calling it “egregious” and “dangerous.” She stated that any damage to Carnegie Hall is part of a separate ongoing investigation. As more information arises, she noted, “more students will be issued conduct notifications in the coming weeks.”
After Starr’s statement was released, the President of the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) issued a response, condemning Starr’s “unilateral” decision and stressing the importance of the Judicial Council. On October 25, ASPC Senate sent out another statement claiming that “No matter where you stand on what happened at Carnegie, the way the administration is handling this situation is blatantly unjust.”
The statement ended with a list of demands for President Starr and the Pomona administration. They called for the overturning of the suspensions, for the Judicial Council to hear the cases, and for sanctions that are “proportional” to the acts in Carnegie Hall.
As a form of silent protest, they encouraged Pomona students to wear black on Monday, October 28 in solidarity with those suspended.
What discipline is Pitzer and Scripps implementing on their students who trespassed, vandalized and damaged Carnegie Hall and restricted others' movement in the building?