Pomona College President Addresses Carnegie Hall Incident

by Andrew Alonzo | [email protected]

On Friday, October 11, Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr spoke at the recent protest at Carnegie Hall in a community letter titled “Incidents at Carnegie Hall and the Road Ahead.”

Masked students from Claremont Colleges stormed Carnegie Hall and vandalized property for nearly four hours on Monday, October 7. A Pomona College professor told the Courier he saw college officials and a campus security officer being pushed, shoved and elbowed by protesters. No arrests have been reported.

“As we head into fall break, I write with the hope that you will take care of yourselves and others, because we need each other and we need care, like the violation of our collective life on campus on October 7, 2024. showed,” Starr’s message began. “The takeover of Carnegie Hall and the events that followed should be unimaginable in a close-knit, ethical and caring learning community like ours. Our academic mission was directly targeted. Teachers, students, staff and visiting high school students were victims of intimidation and fear. This is unacceptable.

Protesters enter Carnegie Hall on the Pomona College campus. Photo/courtesy of Julia Eason, Claremont McKenna College

Starr then expressed a collective “Thank you” to the campus security and student affairs staff; those who helped evacuate the building; professors who provided space for displaced students and professors; to the Associated Students of Pomona College; and to the facilities and IT services staff who worked on Carnegie’s restoration.

The letter goes on to say, in part, that “the destruction at Carnegie Hall has been extensive and the harm to individuals and our mission has been so great.” Requests for information on the cost of damage caused by Monday’s protest have not yet been returned by President Starr or Patricia Vest, Pomona College’s interim communications director.

Efforts to identify participants in Monday’s protest continue.

“I want you all to know that, based on our extensive but ever-increasing investigation, the vast majority of those who have held Carnegie are not Pomona students. Starting this week, disciplinary letters will be sent to students at Pomona and other Claremont colleges who were identified as participating in the Carnegie Hall takeover. Student groups affiliated with this incident are also under investigation. Non-students will be banned from our campus. Additional evidence is still being examined.

The college will not comment on individual disciplinary cases.

“I anticipate that, under the Student Code and depending on individual circumstances, sanctions will vary widely, including banning from campus, suspension and expulsion – a measure we do not take lightly . As always, we have due process on our campus, with avenues for appeal.

Starr wrote that “Every Sagehen…has a role to play in rebuilding our sense of collective responsibility and finding a path forward that restores our community”, and ended the message by looking towards the end of the half.

“As we enter the final months of the semester and year, let’s embrace this commitment together. Let us not lose sight of what unites us and makes us strong. We are given great gifts, gifts that we must bear with confidence for this generation and for all generations to come,” she wrote. “I am proud to be part of this community and look forward to being with you, engaging with you, and setting foot together on a path that, even in our deepest moments of disagreement, leads at heights.”

Starr’s full statement is posted at pomona.edu. Visit pomona.edu/president and click “statements/messages” in the sidebar.

Demonstrations by student protesters over the months have primarily called on Pomona College to divest from businesses they say are aiding Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Prior to the October 7 rally, students staged a protest outside Bridges Hall of Music to disrupt Pomona College’s August 27 graduation ceremony. Other instances this fall include protesters vandalizing Alexander Hall, Amazon student lockers and dining halls, according to the protest activity page. .

The college noted that recent protest activities have intensified.

“This fall semester, we have seen an increase in acts of harassment and intimidation perpetrated against College faculty, staff and students by individuals who conceal their identities using clothing and masks and refuse to identify themselves when asked by staff or teachers. These acts include late-night protests and vandalism in front of the president’s house. Additionally, board members have been viciously targeted online and through postal mail.

In response to last semester’s pro-Palestinian encampment outside Marston Quad and other activism, Pomona College has changed its rules regarding on-campus protests for the 2024-25 school year, including banning encampments, making Pomona College buildings accessible only by ID or key card, thereby adding security. officers to direct traffic to and from Alexander Hall and hire a sergeant and four officers for the campus security force.

Pomona College has provided hyperlinks to its speech and student codes, as well as Claremont Colleges demonstration and event space request policies.