In an email sent out to the Pomona College student body, Pomona Dean of Students Avis Hinkson informed students that the administration “[has] become aware ofa reported threat to “doxx” students unless they participate in an online fundraiser.” Hinkson went on to say that “[w]hile the intent of the fundraiser may be good, threatening members of our community violates not only Pomona College policies, but may indeed be unlawful.” She requested that “those involved in issuing this threat withdraw it immediately and that any money collected as a result of this threat be returned,” stating that “[f]urther investigation into this matter is ongoing.”
The threats were made by the producers of “Love is Blind: Claremont,” who threatened to doxx “heirs and heiresses” who didn’t donate “substantial sums” to Occupy Pomona. Occupy Pomona has been the primary student fundraiser for student aid funds. They received a $10,000 donation shortly after threats were made against wealthy students.
Earlier, Occupy Pomona released a statement in which the organization made it clear that its donors’ privacy “is a priority in [its] organizing process, and has been from the beginning.” Occupy Pomona, the statement said, keeps the private information of its donors “strictly confidential.”
Occupy Pomona also clarified that “[a]ll official communications for Occupy Pomona are through [its] official Facebook and Instagram pages, and any organizing by other student groups to fundraise on [its] behalf are their own.”
According to its statement, Occupy Pomona has provided 127 students with “shelter, groceries, and other essential needs” during the lockdown.
UPDATE: According to a post by the producers of “Love is Blind: Claremont,” the posts relating to doxxing wealthy students were originally intended as a joke to serve a larger plot point in the show. This clarification was posted shortly after the initial email by Pomona’s administration.