Students block Pomona Admitted Students Day entrances, disrupt tours for divestment

From around 7 to 9 a.m. on April 15, students holding anti-apartheid signs blocked road entrances to Pomona College’s south parking lot, forcing campus safety to redirect Admitted Students Day visitors to smaller lots. Students on the lines chanted in support of Pomona divesting from Israeli apartheid, and played an audio recording of several voices saying, “Genocide Gina welcomes you to Apartheid College. Enjoy the show,” referring to Pomona President Gina Gabrielle Starr. At least 30 students participated in the blockage.

The action comes after Starr called riot police to arrest 19 students participating in a sit-in for divestment on April 5, and PDfA threatening in an April 14 Instagram post that “all activities at this college are subject to suspension” from April 15 to 18.

It also comes after 49 Pomona student tour guides and admissions interns signed a letter condemning the arrests, with 12 pledging to strike tours and minimize their involvement in Admitted Students Day already.

Throughout the day, students also handed out flyers to visiting families with information about Pomona’s arrest of 20 students at a divestment sit-in on April 5. Students also flyered and disrupted tours.

Note: this article was completed and uploaded to the website on June 17, 2024, but backdated to April 15, 2024 to match the date that the Instagram post, which contained a partial version of this article, was published.

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