By Ben Lauren PZ ’25 and Maya Olson PZ ’25

On the morning of Oct. 7, over 400 students rallied at the intersection of Sixth Street and North College Ave before over 100 students marched into Carnegie Hall at Pomona College, commencing a sit-in calling for divestment that would last for nearly five hours. Pomona administration condemned the protest and has indefinitely closed Carnegie Hall after they found graffiti throughout the building and damage to AV equipment.

At 10:07 a.m. on Monday morning, hundreds of students walked out of their classes in protest of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine, which has killed over 42,000 people since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 of last year. The walkout was advertised by campus organizations Pomona Divest from Apartheid (PDfA), Claremont Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), 7C Faculty for Justice in Palestine, Harvey Mudd College Dissenters, and several others.

In an Oct. 5th joint Instagram post with 5C Prison Abolition, Mudders Against Murder, PDfA, and SJP, organizers asked students walking out to make an announcement to their class.

“Today, Oct. 7th marks one year since the most recent intensification of zionist genocide in Gaza,” the post read. “I am walking-out of class to rally with the 60+ student orgs demanding that Pomona divest from weapons manufacturers because there can be no business as usual during genocide.”

Students met at designated locations at each of the five colleges before marching to Sixth Street and North College Avenue where a rally was held until approximately 10:50 a.m. At the intersection, the crowd swelled to over 400 students chanting “Free Free Free Palestine!” “Disclose, Divest, We will not stop we will not rest,” “Pomona, Pomona, you will see, Palestine, will be free.”

“We are demanding that our colleges divest from weapons manufacturers … because we do not want the blood of Palestine on our hands,” the speaker said. “We demand divestment and a response to Palestinian calls for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions because we know that this is what hits the imperial core the most.”

Student speakers expressed outrage at recent disciplinary action taken against protesters by 5C administrators including the use of Long Range Acoustic Device speakers by Campus Safety during an action by Mudders Against Murder at Harvey Mudd College, which are military grade weapons known to cause hearing damage.

The speaker also referenced Scripps College administration’s indefinite closure of the Motley Coffeehouse on Oct. 5, effectively firing all 50 of its employees — including those on work study. The administration’s decision came in response to several actions by Motley workers, including them closing the coffeehouse on Oct. 1 as part of the Global Strike for Lebanon, and their refusal last month to comply with administrative requests to take down a Palestinian flag that hung in the Motley.

The speaker critiqued Scripps President Amy Marcus-Newhall’s statement on the closure, in which she argued the presence of the flag and other materials went against the Motley’s “feminist and intersectional ethos.”

“Scripps has been clear, it doesn’t give a shit about intersectional feminism… materialism, and the continuation of settler colonialism.” the speaker said. “I applaud the bravery of the Motley student workers. We see you and we will fight for you.”

At 11:05, the rally left the intersection, walking down North College through Pomona’s Academic Quadrangle, and up to Carnegie Hall, which houses Pomona’s Politics and Economics department, as well as Public Policy Analysis and International Relations.

At 11:13am, protesters marched up Carnegie’s front staircase, opened the door, and entered into the building’s lobby alongside two Campus Safety officers who went to block off students from entering the building’s library.

While classes downstairs continued, students lined the first floor lobby and hallway, chanting for 20 minutes until a student announced they would be barricading the building and attempting to clear out any faculty. Faculty and students inside were notified and began to leave out of the main exits. One of the two Campus Safety officers left the building and stood outside the front entrance for most of the sit-in. Protesters began distributing water, pizza, and other safety items, while other students moved to the second floor, telling faculty to leave and blocking the top of the stairway.

The Carnegie sit-in was not advertised by any of the affiliated co-sponsor organizations by either PDfA or SJP. Roughly about 110 students entered the building, while many from the rally remained outside. The West back entrance was opened though others remained closed. The doors were to be blockaded for the duration of the academic day, establishing what participants described as “The Peoples University,” rhetoric which has been used to describe former waves of student sit-ins and teach-ins across the nation. 

Around 11:50 a.m., W. Bowman Cutter, an associate professor of economics at Pomona, accompanied by the one Campus Safety officer who was still inside the building, attempted to enter the sit-in area on the second floor. He was stopped by protesting students who had already begun the sit-in and who stated that Cutter and the accompanying Campus Safety officer would make them uncomfortable and disturb the protest. Students stood in front of him, holding their hands up, holding signs that said “you are free to leave at any time” with a heart, “exit downstairs.”

Cutter told the protesting students that he wanted to return to his office where he had left his phone and continue working there until he was ready to leave. He claimed he was making a statement about “freedom of movement.”

“I think I should have free entry and exit without being harassed to go to my office,” Cutter said. “I fully support the people’s right to protest. I don’t even mind that they yell … if I don’t do [my work] I don’t get paid. I think I’ve been very calm.”

The students responded by telling Cutter he was free to leave whenever he wanted, but would not let him through the sit-in. They also offered to escort him to his office to get his phone and then immediately exit the building.

“It’s a statement of what kind of community we should be, which is one that doesn’t block free movement in public places,” Cutter said.

He then responded to a protester who claimed he was standing against the community because “these are the students that are paying for you to work here. You work for us.”

“I work for the trustees. I work for the board,” Cutter replied.

He would continue to stay at the steps for the next three and a half hours before being escorted by the Campus Safety Officer to the elevator on the first floor and upstairs to his office.

The Outback has obtained exclusive footage from these three and a half hours of Cutter’s counterprotest and will conclude a report on them soon.

An announcement was made by an organizer that Carnegie Hall would be transformed into a “Refaat Alareer University.” They established a quiet room, a place for hanging out and talking, a library downstairs, and a teach-in regarding safety and community practices.

At 1:30 p.m. Pomona Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Avis Hinkson sent an email to Pomona students on behalf of herself, Pomona Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer Jeff Roth, and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Y. Melanie Wu announcing Carnegie Hall was now closed and anyone inside was required to leave immediately.

Hinkson added that the sit-in was a violation of the Claremont Colleges demonstration policy and that while they did not see a physical threat, all students should stay away from Carnegie Hall.

“What started as a peaceful protest this morning has now turned into a subset of individuals currently taking over Carnegie Hall and disrupting academic continuity,” Hinkson said in the email. “We will not permit the presence of masked, unidentified individuals on our campus refusing to show identification when asked. Nor will we stand for the takeover of buildings and the disruption of academic continuity – all of which happened today. Anyone involved in this disruption is subject to disciplinary action.”

After officially closing the building, Pomona Associate Dean of Students for Student Development and Leadership Brandon J. Jackson and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students for Academic and Personal Success Tracy Arwari stood in front of the west exit of Carnegie which had been barricaded with a large sign by students. Jackson was using his phone to record anyone who attempted to enter the building and both Jackson and Arwari were demanding any students who left the building unmask and identify themselves.

Between 3:30 and 3:50 p.m., protesters began exiting the building, leaving through the West and North exits as well as through ground floor windows. After all protesters had left, Pomona administrators entered and quickly began tearing down signs from windows.

Later that evening, Pomona released a statement condemning individuals for zip-tying doors, spray painting walls inside Carnegie, and “destroying AV equipment.” They announced they have been identifying students who were inside the building and disciplinary action would follow. 

“This violation of our community is disgraceful, especially on this day of mourning. Pomona is better than this,” the statement read. “We have initial identification of several people involved, including a number of individuals from other campuses. As we identify others, disciplinary letters will be sent on a rolling basis. The individuals responsible face sanctions that may include restitution, suspension, expulsion, as well as being banned from campus. ”

They added the sit-in disrupted classes and their Perspectives on Pomona program, which brings high school students from underrepresented communities to visit Pomona’s campus in order to introduce them to the school.

The statement concluded by stating that due to “extensive damage,” the building will be closed until further notice with more information on classroom relocations to come out shortly.

“Pomona College is an extraordinary place, and the actions of a small number of people cannot take away from who we are and what unites us,” the statement read. “This community is defined by care, and we ask that you all join us in lifting up what is best in us, even as the world continues to struggle day by day.” They did not specify what struggle they were referring to in the statement.

Shortly after midnight on Oct. 8, PDfA responded to Pomona’s statement on Instagram in a post titled “Dear Pomona College: Carnegie was not under occupation, Palestine is.” They specifically highlighted the sit-in as a teaching space and its disruption of business as usual for a “genocidal war machine college.”

“Today, we built a community space that allowed for the radical transfer of knowledge between students from different walks of life,” the post read. “We are stronger than ever. We will not stop, we will not rest.”