You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Roughly two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters, many wearing masks and keffiyehs, blocked access to a convocation ceremony at Pomona College Tuesday, The Claremont Courier reported.
The local news outlet said that protesters refused to comply with requests from campus safety officers who asked them to move, remove their masks and show their student identification. The group Pomona Divest From Apartheid took credit for the protest.
“WE SHUT DOWN CONVOCATION,” the group posted on Instagram Tuesday.
Pomona students, like those at many colleges across the country, staged protests in the spring over the Israel-Hamas war, calling for a ceasefire and demanding that the college divest from companies profiting off the bloodshed. At one point protesters occupied the Pomona president’s office, which led to the arrest of 20 students, though charges for 19 will be dropped if they complete community service requirements.
“We send a clear message to the Pomona Board of Trustees and Administration: We will not accept business as usual when Pomona refuses to disclose and divest investments complicit in the occupation and genocide of Palestinians. Our coalition is more strong and united than ever before,” Pomona Divest From Apartheid wrote in its Instagram post.
Due to the disruption, Pomona’s convocation was live-streamed.
“Pomona College held its convocation ceremony today, an event held each fall marking the opening of the academic year,” Pomona College spokesperson Patricia Vest told The Claremont Courier. “Unfortunately, protesters blocked entrances and impeded public access to the venue. For the safety of all attendees, the ceremony continued with the stage party only inside the venue, and a live-stream was made available to all College students, faculty and staff.”
The demonstration marks one of the first significant disruptions to campus activities this academic year as universities across the U.S. prepare for likely protests as the war in Gaza continues.
