Pomona College announced on Monday that it will not punish students who participated in the blockade that shut down Heather Mac Donald’s speech at nearby Claremont McKenna College this spring.
Pomona College has announced they won’t punish their students who participated in the blockade that shut down Heather Mac Donald’s speech last spring at Claremont McKenna College, its sibling institution. Pomona’s decision stands in contrast to Claremont McKenna College’s decision to punish students also involved in the action.
The decision was announced in an email that was sent to the Pomona community on Monday evening. Although Pomona students participated in the protests that shut down the event, the college has decided not to discipline students involved because “there was no evidence that participants were instructed to disperse.”
After a comprehensive review of photos and videos sent by CMC, we have concluded the investigation into allegations that Pomona students violated the Demonstrations Policy of the Claremont University Consortium. While the visual documentation shows that Pomona students were present and did block access to buildings, there was no evidence that participants were instructed to disperse. Further, there was no indication of property damage or physical altercations. When policy violations become apparent during protest activities, Pomona College’s approach has been to engage in conversations with students, reminding them of the policy. The aim is to provide an opportunity for students to protest in a responsible manner, respectful to others and consistent with our community values.
The email, which came from Associate Dean of Students, Ric Townes and Christopher Waugh, argues that because not all Pomona participants could be identified, they opted instead to simply remind all students of the policy on campus demonstrations. “As stated in the [demonstration] policy, “[d]isruptive actions or demonstrations are those that restrict free movement on any of the campuses, or interfere with, or impede access to, regular activities or facilities of any of the Colleges or CUC,” they wrote.
Towards the end of the email, Townes and Waugh reaffirm Pomona’s commitment to protecting the rights of protesters. “As always, Pomona College maintains a deep commitment to student rights to protest and dissent, and strongly supports the rights to free speech and assembly,” they added.
The Claremont Independent, the college newspaper at Claremont McKenna College, disputes the email sent by Pomona College. Specifically, the paper alleges that the protestors ignored police instructions and were in fact physically violent.
In July, Claremont McKenna College announced several disciplinary actions for their students who participated in the blockade. Three students received one-year suspensions, two received one-semester suspensions, and two others were put on conduct probation.
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