Hurrah from President Starr! Protests are one thing – trespassing is another.
Here’s what happened. Pro-Palestinian students who stormed the Pomona College president’s office were arrested and booked by riot-gear-wearing police last Friday, as reported by the Claremont Courier.
“Nineteen were charged with misdemeanor trespassing after allegedly refusing to leave Alexander Hall. An additional protester was charged with misdemeanor delaying or obstructing a law enforcement officer after allegedly refusing to clear a path for officers. … All were booked at Claremont Police Department jail and released with citations to appear in Pomona Superior Court,” the Courier reported.
Prior to their arrest, the students “verbally harass[ed] staff, even using a sickening, anti-black racial slur in addressing an administrator. This is part of an escalating series of incidents on our campus, which has included persistent harassment of visitors for admission tours,” according to this memo published Friday by President Gabrielle Starr.
The students have also been suspended, Starr’s memo stated: “Any participants in today’s events on the SCC lawn or in Alexander Hall, who turn out to be Pomona students, are subject to immediate suspension. Students from the other Claremont Colleges will be banned from Pomona’s campus and subject to discipline on their own campuses.”
“These actions are actively destructive of the values that underpin our community,” she wrote. “…There is absolutely no excuse for this harassment; and there is no excuse for refusal to identify yourself on our campus. Students then, under false pretenses, entered Alexander Hall, and are occupying my office.”
The protesters were furious that campus officials were removing a pro-Palestinian wall ahead of a campus event, the memo stated: “In preparation for events scheduled on Sunday, and in line with our policy, campus staff began to remove the signs and other material that remained. They informed the individuals present that they could move their own material or it would be stored for pickup.”
Videos of Starr demanding the protesters leave or they will be arrested were posted on X. Starr then followed through on her threat.
When Pomona College students (and possibly others) rushed into an administrative building last night, President Gabi Starr told them they had 10 minutes to leave.
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) April 6, 2024
Then she suspended them and had them arrested.
(Warning: language) pic.twitter.com/aCaSSIsRAA