The demonstration occurred on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israeli civilians.
Protesters arrive at the intersection of 6th St. and N. College Ave.
On Monday, October 7, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s 2023 attacks on Israeli civilians, hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters blocked the intersection of 6th St. and N. College Ave. Later, a subset of the protesters occupied and vandalized Pomona College’s Carnegie Building.
The protest began at 10:07 a.m., when groups of protesters from each of the Claremont Colleges, donning masks, hats, sunglasses, and keffiyehs, congregated at meeting points across the five campuses. One group met at the plaza just north of Smith Tower and began their march around 10:10 a.m. As the protesters marched past several academic buildings including Edmunds Hall and the Estella Laboratory, they chanted, “Claremont students walk outside, 5Cs fund genocide!”
The route taken by one group of protesters from (1) the plaza just north of Smith Tower to (2) the intersection of 6th St. and N College Ave. and ending at (3) the Carnegie Building
At 10:18 a.m., protesters began to congregate at the southwest corner of the intersection of 6th St. and N. College Ave. Groups of protesters coming from the other colleges arrived shortly thereafter. At 10:26 a.m., protesters moved into the intersection, blocking the way for several vehicles. A small group of protesters helped a car move around the intersection via the sidewalk.
Hundreds of protesters block the intersection of 6th St. and N. College Ave.
As protesters from the several colleges arrived, the crowd swelled to several hundreds. Shortly after 10:30 a.m., a news helicopter and a crew from ABC7 were on the scene. News media for Claremont Undercurrents, wearing masks, keffiyehs, and orange “News Media” vests, were also present. Several masked non-students, wearing neon green “National Lawyers Guild Legal Observer” baseball caps, watched the protesters. Protesters circulated a pamphlet with guidelines for how to remain anonymous.
Throughout the day, protesters delivered a constant barrage of call-and-response chants. Chants included “Free free Palestine, Free free free Palestine!”, “1, 2, 3, 4, occupation no more! 5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terror state!”, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever!”, “Down, down with occupation! Up, up with liberation!”, “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”, “No peace on stolen land! Divestment is our demand!”, “In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians!”, “What do we want? Divestment! When do we want it? Now!”, “From Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime!”, “Hey hey! Ho ho! The occupation has got to go!”, “Israel bombs Pomona pays! How many kids have you killed today?”, and “If we don’t get it, shut it down!”
At 10:51 a.m. protesters produced a circle around the intersection, and one protester began delivering remarks via a megaphone. The speaker commended martyred Palestinians, condemning the “genocide” in Gaza, and lambasted the destruction of Gazan universities. The speaker also addressed school administrators, claiming Pomona College is “complicit” in Israel’s actions, denouncing Pomona’s arrest of students for unlawful assembly, and decrying Scripps College’s closure of the Motley coffeehouse. Many protesters responded with cries of “Shame!” The speaker also demanded that the Claremont Colleges divest from all companies with ties to Israel.
A speaker delivers remarks as a news camera captures the moment
The speaker ended at 11:04 a.m., asking protesters to begin moving south. At 11:12 a.m., protesters arrived at the Carnegie Building, an academic building housing several classes and professorial offices. At 11:13 a.m., the protesters breached the eastern entrance and began to stream past Pomona College administrators and campus safety officers and through the doorway.
Protesters push past a campus safety officer into the Carnegie Building
Inside, protesters announced via megaphones that the protest was “not an occupation” and that anyone was “welcome to leave at any time” but that protesters were planning on staying “until 4.” At 11:27 a.m., protesters inside began to sit down and take out their laptops. Students inside of the building for classes like Statistics and Macroeconomics began to depart via the east and west exits. Some high-school students, present for the Perspectives on Pomona preview program, also departed the building. Several students departed the building via the windows to avoid the protesters.
Protesters line the hallways of the Carnegie Building
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., protesters announced that nobody else would be allowed into the building. Non-protesters who attempted to enter the building were forcefully blocked. Entrances were sealed with zip ties and vice grips. When asked whether anybody could enter, one protester responded by shaking his head. He also shook his head when asked whether students would be let in for afternoon classes. “Classes are canceled,” he remarked.
Protesters also blocked the entrance for Pomona economics Professor Eleanor Brown, who was trying to access her office. Protesters claimed this measure was “for the safety of everyone inside.” Upon departure, Professor Brown remarked, “we teach about settler colonialism, but apparently we’re not allowed to do our job.”
Protesters block the east entrance to the Carnegie Building
One Pomona College administrator approached protesters at the west entrance. She claimed that people on the second floor could not get out of the building, and pleaded with protesters to let that person out. “If you could, I would be really grateful,” she remarked.
Throughout the afternoon, protesters spray painted “INTIFADA” on the walls of the basement, destroyed AV equipment, and left signage splayed across the floor. As the hours progressed, protesters departed the building, with about a dozen remaining at 3:30 p.m. At about 3:38 p.m., campus safety officials entered the building, asking students to show identification, and the remaining protesters dispersed.
Protestors spray painted “INTIFADA” on the walls of the Carnegie Building
Pomona Economics Professor Bowman Cutter explained that he had left his phone in his office, but protesters had prevented him from retrieving it. He said that he remained in the stairwell for several hours alongside a campus safety officer until he was allowed to retrieve his property.
At 5:21 p.m., Pomona College administrators sent an email to all students regarding the protests. They wrote that the “violation of our community is disgraceful, especially on this day of mourning.” Administrators also explained that protesters would face consequences:
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. We will not, however, be commenting on individual cases.
Administrators said that “due to extensive damage, Carnegie Hall will remain closed until further notice.”
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