What happened at Carnegie Hall on Monday, October 7 was not peaceful protest, as individuals dressed to conceal their identity—the majority of whom were not Â鶹ӰÊÓ students—pushed their way into an academic building and proceeded to occupy it for more than four hours.
From the outset, classes were disrupted, and high-school students visiting campus and participating in Perspectives on Pomona (POP) had to be relocated. Protesters shoved student affairs and campus safety staff, injured a campus safety officer, obstructed access to entrances and exits, zip-tied external doors and harassed faculty and staff working in Carnegie Hall.
In addition, they vandalized classrooms, faculty offices, common areas, alumni memorabilia, elevators, bathrooms, carpets and destroyed AV equipment. Due to the vandalism, Carnegie Hall faculty and their classes, as well as administrative staff, were displaced for the remainder of the week. Academic and business operations of the College in this building were disrupted for days.
Through the FAQ below, the College is sharing more context on the disciplinary actions related to these incidents.
Disciplinary Actions
What disciplinary actions have occurred related to the Carnegie incidents?
Within the long-standing scope of the student code, and commensurate with individual circumstances, sanctions range widely, including campus bans and suspensions and possibly expulsion. As always, we have due process on our campus, with opportunities for appeal.
Interim suspensions were issued, and the majority of these were upheld by the Preliminary Sanction Review Board (PSRB). The PSRB is comprised of two students and two staff who determine whether the interim suspension is warranted based on safety concerns presented, as well as precedent and individual context.
In conformity with the delegated to the president by the Board of Trustees, the severity of the circumstances, and the sweeping effect on our community, those students whose interim suspensions were upheld have now been issued suspensions for the remainder of the academic year 2024-25 and are not subject to discipline by iJ-Board.
For those Pomona students whose interim suspensions were overturned by the PSRB, their cases will be heard by J-Board as appropriate.
As more evidence emerges, we anticipate additional conduct cases.
For non-Â鶹ӰÊÓ students who have been identified as part of the Carnegie Hall incidents—most of the participants of the takeover—the College has issued bans for the remainder of the academic year 2024-25 from our campus, and we continue to review new cases. If these students were enrolled in Pomona classes during fall 2024, they will have an administrative withdrawal and will not be allowed to enroll in Pomona classes in the spring 2025 semester.
Were all interim suspension cases reviewed by the Preliminary Sanction Review Board?
Yes. All interim suspension cases received a review through the Preliminary Sanction Review Board (PSRB).
What is the extraordinary authority of the president?
According to the , the President shall have the authority to act in extraordinary circumstances to ensure the safety of individuals, the protection of property, and the continuity of the educational process, notwithstanding any other provision in the Student Code or any other College policy to the contrary.
Are all the disciplinary cases subject to the process associated with extraordinary authority of the president?
No. There are disciplinary cases that are being heard by J-Board.
What conditions were met by a subset of cases to be subject to extraordinary authority of the president?
As laid out in the Student Code, these cases are following a procedure reserved for events that meet three conditions:
- they threatened safety of individuals on campus,
- involved in the destruction of College property, and
- they disrupted Pomona’s educational process.
These actions and events violated the rights of hundreds of students as well as the faculty and staff forced to leave Carnegie, or blocked from their work, classes, study, and research.
The damage to Carnegie, including to teaching infrastructure, was egregious and is being separately adjudicated; however, the most far-reaching violation of the individuals thus sanctioned by the College was their involvement in the takeover of a building, the forced end of classes and the disruption of our academic mission.
This takeover created an environment that was fundamentally dangerous, restricting entrance and exit for Carnegie, and even leading to students leaving the building by the windows.  
In accordance with the code, neither the exercise of extraordinary authority nor the sanction means that a particular student’s actions met all three criteria, but rather that the event itself met the threshold for enacting a different judicial process.
Students were sanctioned for their joining in the takeover of the building.
Individuals who vandalized Carnegie, zip-tied doors and carried out other violent actions will face more severe sanctions up to and including expulsion.
Can the individuals who have been suspended submit an appeal?
Yes. We have a variety of procedures on our campus to address alleged student misconduct, all with opportunities for appeal or reconsideration.
Are students suspended for being in the building or causing vandalism to Carnegie?
The first wave of students issued interim suspensions were sanctioned due to evidence that they participated in the takeover of an academic building and were present within the building during/after the takeover for an extended period. Vandalism cases have not yet been brought.
What resources did suspended Pomona students receive?
All Pomona students who received suspension notices have been offered funding for transportation to their home paid for by the College. Students should contact dos@pomona.edu to make arrangements. Students needing physical or mental health support may access providers through SHIP (if enrolled) or TimelyCare.
Why were students suspended for the remainder of the academic year?
The cases subject to the extraordinary authority of the president were charged with violations of the .
Extraordinary authority was evoked by the president because the takeover of Carnegie met three criteria:
- they threatened safety of individuals on campus,
- involved in the destruction of College property, and
- they disrupted Pomona’s educational process.
In accordance with the code, this does not mean that a particular student’s actions met all three criteria, but that the event itself met the threshold for enacting a different judicial process.
This is a decision that the College does not take lightly but determined it appropriate given that these actions violated the rights of more than 600 students, as well as faculty and staff.
What type of evidence was used to identify individuals involved in Carnegie incidents?
A range of evidence has been used such as photos, videos, eye-witness accounts, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity from the Carnegie building over extended periods.
How is Wi-Fi connectivity being used as evidence?
To identify otherwise masked/blocked individuals who were present during the takeover of Carnegie, the College employed data reporting the unique device connections to wireless access points installed on all floors of Carnegie Hall (ground floor, first floor and second floor). The timeframe of the data ranges between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on October 7, 2024. Individuals identified via WiFi were connected to hubs inside the building for at least two time periods. The minimum connection duration was 50 minutes. WiFi connections were validated by unique individual login credentials. This information was collected in accordance with the Privacy Policy set forth in the of the Student Handbook.
Will more students receive disciplinary action related to Carnegie incidents?
Although the College has not yet identified everyone who took part in the takeover, the College continues to follow the existing evidence to identify individual participants. Depending on evidence and individual circumstances, some of those participants will also be subject, via the same process, to sanctions similar to those already imposed.
Have all participants in the Carnegie takeover been identified?
No. We may not be able to identify every individual involved in the takeover of Carnegie. It is Â鶹ӰÊÓ policy and that of The Claremont Colleges that all individuals on campus should identify themselves upon request by officers of the College or The Claremont Colleges. Failure to do so may result in being instructed to leave campus or even arrest for trespassing if an individual does not comply.
Will faculty be notified of student suspensions?
Faculty are not notified of students’ conduct matters.