Photograph from Element5.
On Monday, Claremont McKenna's student senate passed a resolution responding to the arrests at Pomona College:
“On April 5, 2024, Pomona College’s administration called for the arrest of Claremont Colleges students as they exercised their right to free speech and assembly in support of divestment from ‘Israeli apartheid and weapons manufacturing.’ We condemn the escalation of violence on campus by Pomona College and the administration’s subsequent institutional retaliation due to their chilling impact on discourse, free speech, and the principles of Open Academy. We also reject the use of police due to their presence causing particular risk for Black, Indigenous, brown, Undocumented, and other students. In light of these findings, we call for the 7C Demonstration Policy and CMC FAQs to be revised to protect students’ right to protest and speech.”
Fourteen senators cast votes by secret ballot. Eleven supported the motion and three opposed it. The resolution will now be sent to the student body for a non-binding referendum. The results will be sent to the administration and made public.
Last week, we asked CMC President Hiram Chodosh if he planned to comment on the Pomona arrests. He said that he did not.
UPDATE (4/19):
Voting opened at 8 AM on Thursday and stayed open for 24 hours. On Friday morning, ASCMC's Chief Ethics And Procedural Officer announced the results.
"Of 1362 ballots sent, 419 were returned for a total voter turnout of 31 [percent]. Of those that voted, 70.24 [percent] voted to approve. 29.76 [percent] voted to reject."
The resolution can be accessed here.