Words and Photos by Maya Olson PZ ’25

On Thursday, November 9th, 5C students answered a “global call to action” for Palestine and escalated their demands for Pomona College’s divestment from Israel and US weapons manufacturers as part of a day of actions titled, “Shut Pom Down for Palestine”. Students held a sit-in in front of Alexander Hall at Pomona College in the morning and hundreds of students picketed both outside and inside of Alexander Hall throughout the day.

At 7 a.m., students met at the Coop Fountain on Pomona College campus for a quick briefing about safety protocols during the sit-in. By 7:30 a.m., students began to sit in the doorways of Alexander Hall, while others picketed with signs encouraging divestment and a ceasefire. Students chanted in front of the building while others sat with the goal of disrupting Pomona administration and preventing them from entering their offices for the day.

At approximately 7:35 a.m., campus security arrived and attempted to enter the south door. They were holding coffee, and after walking up to the door filled with students whose arms were linked, they quickly walked away.

Ten minutes later, three people began to film the students. For this reason, students wore all-black and were encouraged to cover as much as possible as not to reveal their identities for their safety. Intimidation methods such as horrific violence, doxxing, arrest, or being singled out and punished by college administrations across the globe have led to increased precautions to ensure anonymity at escalation actions.

Picketers surrounding Alexander Hall chanted, “not a conflict, not a war, occupation no more,” “stop the killing, stop the slaughter, Gaza has no food or water,” and “divestment is our demand, no peace on stolen land.”

At 8:12 a.m., approximately 35 faculty members stood on the south side of Alexander Hall, unable to enter their office spaces. Among them was Pomona Dean of Students Avis Hinkson.

Within 15 minutes, the faculty were ushered inside by police and campus security through a typically unused door, where students had not been sitting. At 9:00 a.m., students reconvened at the Coop Fountain to escalate further and begin a picket surrounding Alexander Hall. Approximately 180 students marched around Alexander Hall for an hour and a half, continuing their chants and circling the building while faculty remained inside. According to an anonymous picketer who had left and returned, students could be heard from across Pomona’s campus.

Over 400 students gathered on Marston Quad at 10:30 a.m. to reconvene for the next action, the “ABCs of BDS” teach-in, where food was catered from local restaurants. According to The Student Life, organizers explained that Israel receives “more money in aid from the United States than all other countries combined” and thus students of U.S. colleges have a specific responsibility to demand divestment from Israel. According to Axios, “more than 80% of Israel’s weapons imports came from the U.S. between 1950 and 2020,” emphasizing the call for Pomona to divest from U.S. weapons manufacturers. In total, Israel has received more than $260 billion from the U.S. since World War II, plus $10 billion for other missile defense systems as of October 10th, according to U.S. News and World Report.

By noon, approximately 300 students had returned to picket around Alexander Hall, and this time, entered the building to ensure their chants were heard by administrators.

Other students went to the Pomona College Organic Farm for community building and catered food. This was especially encouraged for students with less institutional privilege, who may face harsher consequences if the college retaliated or arrested students. Picketers at Alexander Hall continued for another hour before joining students at the farm who were phone banking and sending emails demanding a ceasefire from their Congressional and political representatives. 

Throughout the day, water, food, and safety supplies were offered continuously and camaraderie was in the air. 

Across the globe, public opinion is essential to pushing politicians to demand a permanent ceasefire. “Overwhelming demands for ceasefire” from constituents through calls and emails made to congress have put public pressure on American politicians and media, urging further action to be taken after the temporary ceasefire and exchange of hostages between Israel and Hamas. Mainstream sources are finally questioning the U.S.’s responsibility for Gazan deaths now that 2,150 pro-Palestine actions have occurred in the U.S. as of November 21st, attended by over one million people. 

“Shut Pom Down” follows the arrest of 20 Jewish students representing Jews for Ceasefire Now at Brown University for a sit-in. Many students feel it is their responsibility to act upon what they have learned at the colleges and speak out against hypocrisy. 

“‘It would be incredibly disingenuous and antithetical to everything I’ve tried to learn here if I don’t actually manifest that into action,’” a student told TSL on November 9. 

November 9th’s actions were organized by a coalition of students, “not one org or group that the colleges can isolate, intimidate, or placate,” posts on the action from multiple campus organizations read.
“Despite Pomona’s current and historic complicity with apartheid, divestment is a fight that has been won and can be won at Pomona,” posts from a cross-coalition action share read. “It starts with us showing up. Until Pomona College divests from israel [sic], israel-affilliated [sic] companies, and US weapons manufacturers, ending its economic support of Israeli genocide and occupation, we will not allow daily business to go on undisrupted.”