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Pomona
College joins other Claremont Colleges in day of
solidarity.
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 More
than a thousand members of the Pomona College community
gathered on the College’s Marston Quadrangle on Wednesday,
March 10, to show solidarity with the rest of the Claremont
Colleges community in speaking out against racism and
violence.
The event came near the end of what a number of speakers
referred to as a remarkable day of discussion and
reflection, as the institutions of The Claremont Colleges
(also including Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Pitzer colleges and
Claremont Graduate University) canceled classes in order to
devote the entire day to discussions of race and community.
The day ended with a rally on the campus of Claremont
McKenna College.
"Although formal classes were not held at Pomona College
Wednesday, I was pleased and deeply impressed by the amount
of real education that was taking place throughout our
community," said Pomona College President David Oxtoby. "In
speeches by faculty and students at the Marston Quad open
microphone, in small group discussions throughout the day,
and in evening forums held in dormitory lounges, issues of
race, class, gender, diversity, and tolerance were addressed
in deep and significant ways. The day provided an occasion
for the full community to come together to support each
other and to explore directions for future change at Pomona
College."
The day’s events—all part of what Pomona College Dean of
Students Ann Quinley referred to as “a day of solidarity and
teaching”—were organized in response to a hate crime that
occurred Tuesday, March 9, in a parking lot shared by Pomona
and Claremont McKenna colleges. According to reports, a car
belonging to a Claremont McKenna faculty member who had just
taken part in a forum on hate speech was vandalized sometime
that evening. The windows of the car were broken, the tires
slashed, and the body of the vehicle spray-painted with
racial epithets. Claremont Police and the FBI are currently
investigating the incident, which has been formally
classified as a hate crime, and Claremont McKenna College
has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the
apprehension of the persons responsible.
President Oxtoby had urged students and faculty to use the
day to come together to demonstrate their unity in opposing
acts of intimidation and to discuss future steps to build
trust and improve the climate of racial understanding on
campus. “We must realize that education needs to take place
outside as well as inside the classroom,” President Oxtoby
wrote to the College community Wednesday morning. “I ask
that each of you use this change in daily routines to
further this education.”
The day included a number of informal opportunities for
faculty, students and staff to come together to discuss the
significance of recent events, beginning with a “teach-in”
on Marston Quad and continuing with a range of small-group
discussions.
The day culminated in an evening rally involving students
from all five Claremont Colleges and Claremont Graduate
University on the campus of Claremont McKenna College.
Here are a few of the comments offered by speakers at the
Pomona College gathering:
--"Violence is the antithesis of critical thinking and
learning, and we must express our outrage that someone tried
to do this on our campus. They will not succeed. The faculty
have only begun to decide what to do in response to this,
and we will continue that discussion, and try to produce in
the coming weeks and months recommendations about actions
that will bring about real and lasting change on campus."
–Michael Kuelhwein, professor of economics and chair of the
Executive Committee of the Faculty
--"A lot of times, I know, you [Pomona students] get
disillusioned with what you're trying to do. Is anyone
supporting you? Are your ideas right? Do you really
represent the whole student body? And today, and over the
course of the last couple of months, I've really been
incredibly proud. I'm a very proud Sagehen right now. If you
were there in Collins [Dining Hall of Claremont McKenna
College] last night, if you witnessed the dialog that took
place between the students and the faculty and
administrators who were there, you'd agree that it was
awesome. I can't thank you enough, and I hope we can go
forward with this." –Ari Greenburg ’04, president of the
Associate Students of Pomona College
--"While the dynamics of what's happening at Pomona College
and The Claremont Colleges can be seen as a microcosm of the
larger society, that should not let us off the hook. We need
to instead envision Pomona College as a model for what an
inclusive community can look like.” –Gilda Ochoa, associate
professor of sociology and Chicano studies
-- "If we are to make progress on issues of racism and race
relations at Pomona College, it will mean we will be
uncomfortable. Progress does not mean that we feel happy or
that we are making a lot of friends. Progress means our
world view is being confronted and we are learning and that
will be uncomfortable. In the coming days, if you are
engaging in these issues you will feel uncomfortable and you
shouldn't worry because it means we are making progress."
–Daren Mooko, director of the Asian American Resource Center
Related stories:
3/19/04: In wake of police report
calling hate crime at CMC a hoax, colleges reaffirm
commitment to improving our community.
3/11/04: Pomona College joins other Claremont Colleges in
day of solidarity.
3/10/04: Pomona College joins other
Claremont Colleges in canceling classes for one day on March
10 in response to hate crime.
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