We are writing this letter to express our extreme dissatisfaction with the way the physical and verbal assault of Valorie Thomas by two Pomona College students has been addressed by Pomona College. There are several aspects of this incident that we feel have been handled in a way that is unacceptable to us as members of the Pomona College and the Claremont College community as a whole.

Campus Security, though obliged to contact the Claremont Police Department when there is a crime on campus, failed to do so in this case, and Thomas had to file a police report herself. We feel that the lack of importance given to this case by Campus Security is appalling, and that especially in light of the possibility of racial and sexist comments having been made, this incident should have been considered a crime.

Though the incident took place Sept. 8th, the J- Board trial is not set until Oct 10th. Though there are many reasons given for why the trial might have been postponed, these reasons only highlight the lack of gravity assigned to the events by the administration.

The students have been allowed to remain on campus despite the violence of their actions. The administration has, as of yet, not formally made the students of Pomona College aware of this threat to their safety. If the administration is unable to take action against these students without a J-Board trial, it is unacceptable that the trial has taken almost a month to be organized. A potential threat to the safety of students on the Pomona College campus has gone unaddressed for almost a month. The time it has taken for this issue to be addressed in a trial reflects the lack of importance assigned this incident.

The charges being brought against the students at the J Board trial, according to comments made by Dean Quinley, do not address the fact that the verbal insults aimed at Thomas were both gendered and racially specific. This is unacceptable. Not only are these students a possible threat to the rest of the Claremont College community, but also they become a specific threat to both women and people of color on campus. By not dealing with the specificity of the verbal attacks on Thomas an issue of the security of women and people of color on campus is not being addressed.

The administration’s apparent lack of interest in pushing for a timely decision in this instance also reveals a lack of respect not only for Thomas but also for all Pomona professors. As a faculty in residence, this threat affects both her personal and professional environments. This response also has the possibility of establishing a public reputation for Pomona College as an institution that does not value or protect the presence of marginalized groups on campus, to the detriment of supposed efforts to foster diversity. Valorie Thomas is highly valued in her capacities as an English and Black Studies professor and as a mentor.

For all of these reasons we feel Pomona College has done a poor job of addressing issues that affect us as a community. We as students recognize that the college has a history of discrimination against marginalized people whether it manifests itself in the form of unreported crimes or acts of hate.

If these students are found to be guilty, we insist that Dean Quinley recommend expulsion of these students to the penal board, which is within her authority.

Sincerely,

Nancy Hanna ’03

Regan Douglass ’02

Mary Farnsworth ’03

Vivian Y. Ohtake-Urizar ’04

Lori Ramirez ’03

Janel Whitten ’02

Ilana Blankman ’04

Maribeth Saleem ’02

Pan-African Students Association