Suspended students accuse college of ‘tyrannical abuse of power’
Pomona College administrators have suspended 10 anti-Israel student activists for a year for occupying Carnegie Hall, citing severe danger and “egregious” damage.
The suspended students decried the decision, calling it a “tyrannical abuse of power,” alleging the college has no direct proof they damaged the building, and arguing they are being used as scapegoats and deterrents.
President Gabrielle Starr announced in a memo Wednesday the decision, noting that as “a result of their actions, several students have been fully suspended for the remainder of the 2024-2025 academic year.” The memo also states:
The damage to Carnegie, including to teaching infrastructure, was egregious and is being separately adjudicated; however, the most far-reaching violation of the individuals thus sanctioned by the College was their involvement in the takeover of a building, the forced end of classes and the disruption of our academic mission. This takeover created an environment that was fundamentally dangerous, restricting entrance and exit for Carnegie, and even leading to students leaving the building by the windows.
The president stated that because of the “severity of the circumstances,” the students’ “cases are not subject to discipline by the Judicial Council.”
As a result, the students cannot return to campus or participate in any school activities or services until the fall 2025 semester. However, the students can request a review of the decision.
“We cannot move forward, let alone aim to strengthen our community, when safety is at risk and actions lead us away from the foundational value of respect and threaten our ability to be together,” Starr stated.
“More students will be issued conduct notifications in the coming weeks,” she stated.
On Oct. 7, protesters obstructed entrances, zip-tied doors, graffitied the building, classrooms and offices and destroyed AV equipment. One employee was injured in the building takeover, as previously reported by The College Fix.
By Oct. 22, 12 students had received interim suspensions. Now, the school has rejected appeals from 10 of those students and escalated their penalties to full suspensions without a formal hearing.
The suspended students pushed back in an op-ed headlined “We will not tolerate collective punishment” in the school’s newspaper Friday. They called the disciplinary action a “tyrannical abuse of power.”
The students stated they requested evidence from the school identifying them at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 7 but have not received any.
“Our only way to influence this decision is to write an appeal, for which we have been provided little to no guidelines for how we can argue that we should not be suspended,” the students stated.
Further, they stated they received “identical” suspension letters, proving that they “are not treated as individuals but as victims of collective punishment.”
Nearly 500 students participated in the rally, “yet Pomona College is indiscriminately punishing individuals without providing evidence or maintaining fair procedures,” the students stated.
They added that the school “is arbitrarily holding [them] responsible for property destruction…to deter student organizing for Palestine and divestment.”
Further, the students accused administrators of “racial profiling,” questioning whether they were “targeted” for their “ethnic and racial backgrounds, gender identities or visibility in marginalized spaces.”
MORE: VIDEO: Pro-Palestinian Pomona protesters scream like banshees outside president’s house
IMAGE: Claremont Independent
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