Students stage second die-in at Big Bridges to demand Pomona divest from genocide, disrupting HMC inauguration 

On the morning of March 1, dozens of students participated in a 1.5 hour die-in outside Pomona’s Big Bridges auditorium, delaying the inauguration ceremony of Harvey Mudd College President Harriet B. Nembhard. 

The action came a day after a student delegation to Pomona Treasurer Jeff Roth, in which speakers promised escalatory actions until the college divested from genocide. In a February ASPC referendum, students voted overwhelmingly in favor of Pomona divesting from weapons manufacturers and companies complicit in Israeli apartheid. 

Before the ASPC referendum results came out, Gabi Starr sent out an open letter condemning the referendum. She wrote that it “raises the specter of antisemitism.” The BDS movement has clearly stated that it is a political tactic opposed to all forms of racism including antisemitism. 

Students on the ground wrapped themselves in white cloth, and organizers outlined them in red chalk-paint. Several staff members and event attendees appeared to step around or over students to enter the auditorium. 

Throughout the die-in, organizers played a recording of names of Palestinians under the age of four who have been killed by Israeli forces since Oct. 7. Student organizers shared with Undercurrents that there were 1,209 names read out. The Israeli Defense Forces have killed more than 30,645 Palestinians since Oct. 7.

Throughout the action, HMC administrators were seen taking individual photos of die-in participants on the ground and filming other students.  

Around 9:19 A.M., PO and HMC deans asked action participants to move to allow disabled attendees into Big Bridges. Undercurrents obtained video evidence of organizers moving student bodies to create a clear path into the auditorium as well as videos of the disabled attendees being able to get inside. 

From 9:24 to 9:26 a.m., a staff member appeared to point a broadcast-style camera and their personal phone at students participating in the die-in on the steps of Big Bridges.

At 10:30 A.M., faculty processed into the building through a back entrance that is reserved for authorized personnel only. Attendees were encouraged to relocate to a different auditorium to watch a live-stream of the event. 

At the end of the audio recording of the names of martyred Palestinian children, recorded voices of students promised further escalation against Pomona College until divestment, and called out Harvey Mudd’s complicity through the school’s partnerships with weapons manufacturers. 

“There will be no business as usual until senseless Starr and her administrative accomplices listen to their students, who overwhelmingly support Pomona’s divestment, disclosure, and an academic boycott,” the recording said.