^{"So they wanted to be measured, but they wanted to be heard."}

---

---

• Did any students personally come up to you and start asking you or asking for your opinion?

Of course, of course!

• How was it? 

There were many students who ask, you know…well they had several questions. You know, what happens if we do this? And I said, it’s up to the college – whatever action the college takes. And they didn’t tell me exactly what they were going to do, they just said, what happens if we do A, what happens if we do B, what happens if we do C? Because, in addition to the students inside, there were students protesting outside. There were people inside, and there were a bunch of people outside, also protesting with banners, with you know, everything imaginable, chanting on the outside. So it was the people inside but the people outside as well. And, so it was very interesting because I think the students were trying to figure out a way to get their message across but not subdue the message in such a way that nobody would hear it because their actions were so outrageous. So they wanted to be measured, but they wanted to be heard. And so, the takeover then became a kind of balancing act and I think the students were very careful in how they proceeded. But they were very dedicated to their cause. Um, I know that they occupied the building for a long time. They really did.

• Yeah! I think it was two days…

Yeah, and on the third day the president from Pomona College said we really need our building back because it’s the administrative building on campus and they need their building back. It was a very interesting thing to walk through the Pomona campus and see the sign that said THIS BUILDING CLOSED DUE TO RACISM (laughs). And that was the banner that was sitting at the front there and everyone that went down College Ave could see this banner.

• Do you know who came up with the banner?

I don’t know who came up with the banner; the students were very creative in a way they came up with the banner. But I think the results were very positive in that the students were promised that their actions, their demands would be heard. That their action wasn’t going to go just unheard of, and that people were going to pay attention to the fact that there was a need for great diversity on the campus. And so, I think what happens is that then you have faculty trying to negotiate the release of the building with students. And, I remember walking in there and talking to the students and asking them ‘and what do you want as a result of this action? What are you hoping to gain?’ And um, basically, when I saw them they had their demands already set out, they had them set forward. What was interesting of course of students was that they were in and they were out. So, they were taking turns. So it wasn’t like some students were there all the time but other students were in, they would go to class, someone would replace them, and then they would come back. So it was, come, protest, go to class, come back. Protest, go to class, come back (laughs). So they were very systematic about their approach. Ultimately I think the students were successful in a lot of ways; they brought attention to a need that was very much there. I think the administration was more than reasonable in terms of how they reacted. For example, no one got suspended, none of the students were suspended. No one had to face any judicial court action from taking over the building.

• Were police there?

The police came, checked it out, and left (laughs). Campus Safety was the one that was around all the time because they wanted to make sure that the building was safe because clearly in the evening the building was not locked. So what they did was that they were there all the time, just to make sure everyone was safe … because you can’t have students just not be safe.

Comment on this page