Suspended Pomona students challenged, called for reinstatement

By Tania Azhang

Pomona College students Daniel Velazquez and Francisco Villaseñor were suspended for the academic year for participating in a competition. October 7 show at Carnegie HallOn November 15, he held a press conference at El Barrio Park.

Approximately 50 students attended the event. Speakers include Pomona dining hall faculty and store steward Maria Ocampo, Chicana/o-Latina/o studies professor Rita Cano Alcalá, Associated Students of Pomona College Student Affairs Board of Trustees Representative Oliver Rizvi and Pitzer student Fia Powers, who was among those barred from the Pomona campus after more than 100 students occupied Carnegie Hall and participated in an Oct. 7 protest demanding Pomona’s suspension. Weapons manufacturers who supply weapons to the Israeli government.

In response to Pomona President Gabrielle Starr Suspended 12 Pomona students for the academic year (two of whom successfully appealed the suspension) and banned other non-Pomona students from campus. The press conference was organized with the support of Palestine Law and ACLU SoCal organizations, among others. on November 13 Pomona took one joint letter From the ACLU and others, claiming: suspensions It was stated that students’ rights may have been violated and a lawsuit may be filed to object to the decision.

Velazquez opened the conference by explaining the purpose of the October 7 demonstration and how the suspensions that followed affected the students.

“I think it’s important to recognize that students who have been suspended throughout this entire process have been unilaterally not only suspended from school, but also evicted from their homes, deprived of food, deprived of any support from the university, and then deprived of any clarity on how this process will proceed. It revealed why the process was being conducted in unprecedented ways, not only in the context of the history of Pomona College, but in the context of the history of the particular university in the United States,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez said the suspensions represent a crackdown on freedom of expression.

“Instead of doing this purge, the College is going through what they claim are fair procedures, but what I believe is our first amendment rights, the right to peacefully assemble, the right to free speech, and our right as students to raise our voices and demand what we believe is best for the society we have created,” he said.

Speaking after Velazquez, Alcalá touched on the support Chicana/o-Latina/o studies provide to students who are suspended from school.

“Our students should not have to give up their constitutional rights when they step foot on our campuses,” Alcalá said. “They should have the same rights on our campuses as they do standing on the street corner there. (Students) are the moral conscience of countries as long as universities exist. And their voices need to be allowed, their voices need to be heard, and their voices need to be heeded, because there is a genocide going on right now, and we all need to stop turning a blind eye to this genocide, as these students want. “We must look at it and demand that this be stopped immediately.”

Ocampo recalled that Villaseñor defended Pomona’s cafeteria workers union.

He “organised, rallied and fought to promote social justice at Pomona College. He organized with us and his colleagues to create positive change and support our fight to be treated with dignity and respect,” Ocampo said. “Francisco was instrumental in organizing Pitzer, catering, cleaning, grooming, and maintaining the grounds. “His efforts were seen and felt by everyone, and thanks to his efforts, Pitzer earned the right to unionize.”

Powers testified about his participation in the October 7 protest and how his suspension affected him.

“This is very personal to me because two days ago my family in Lebanon had to evacuate their home due to the Israeli bombing of the city of Beirut,” Powers said. “With this ban, Pomona has disrupted my education and intellectual development because I can no longer go to school, now I strive to make sure I can graduate this May.”

Rizvi condemned Starr’s handling of the situation.

“There is a lack of evidence and clarity, and sentences are being imposed without any information about this investigation,” he said. “Being in the building should not automatically lead to removal. What’s worse is that the student handbook has now been heavily weaponised to suit any punishment. “These penalties disproportionately impact first-generation, low-income, and (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) students.”

Velazquez read the statement from the Palestine Law Office:

“Pomona uses collective punishment by severely disciplining students regardless of their individual behavior to chill student speech on campus and deter students from advocating for the human rights of Palestinians,” the statement said. “The restraining letters make clear that the college holds anyone who participates in a protest responsible for any illegal or disruptive actions that may occur around the protest, regardless of whether the person participated in or even knew about those actions. “In effect, this punishes the act of protest itself.”

Villaseñor also condemned Starr’s actions.

“Let’s be clear, this has nothing to do with revitalizing society,” he said. “This is about President Starr and the board of trustees using their actions to intimidate and intimidate students. I’ve been in five different houses in the last month… Some nights I slept without knowing where I would be the next day, without any evidence, without any fair process. To be clear, our demands are simple; immediate reinstatement with assurance of financial aid, immediate reinstatement and removal of student bans in five countries (Claremont Colleges), and finally withdrawal from the Israeli war machine.”

Tania Azhang is a senior at Pitzer College majoring in American studies and media and editor-in-chief of arts, culture and opinions at The Students Life, the Claremont Colleges newspaper.