Sources revealed this week confidential documents pertaining to the denial of tenure of Professor of Psychology Stanley Gaines. Inside, the reason for Gaines’ denial, long debated by Gaines, was revealed.

"Based on reviews from the Department of Psychology, we have determined that Stanley Gaines’ collegiality leaves much to be desired…the diverse nature of his ethnicity makes his presence undesirable," stated the Faculty Personnel Committee in their recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

Photo by Amber Cain Stanley Gaines has been black all his life.

Stanley Gaines was denied tenure because of his race," admitted Dean of the College Hans Palmer after the documents became public. "To state it simply, he was too black."

According to Palmer, Pomona has an Affirmative Action Committee which promotes the advancement of minority professors. They have established a goal of having 25 percent minority faculty by the year 2005. Currently, 21.4 percent of the faculty is a minority.

"If we keep going at the same speed we have been, we will have 27 percent minority faculty by the year 2005. That is simply not acceptable," stated Palmer. He explained that overfilling the quota established by the Affirmative Action Committee could set an undesirable precedent for diversity at Pomona.

In order to remedy this, President Peter Stanley and Palmer decided earlier in the year that a minority faculty member would have to be eliminated in order to avoid overshooting the projected goal. As most professors are securely protected by tenure, Stanley and Palmer determined that the professors currently under review for tenure were their best target. They then concluded that Gaines was the optimal choice.

"First and foremost, Gaines is black," remarked Stanley. "Secondly, and equally important, was the fact that the Psychology Department, along with a majority of the administration, simply dislike him." Stanley referenced several instances when Gaines had succeeded, with apparently minimal effort, at pissing off the majority of the college administrators.

Gaines was not surprised by the documents which were released.

"It is what I have been saying all along," Gaines stated in an interview Wednesday. "My denial of tenure had nothing to do with my teaching, my personality, or my personal hygiene. From the beginning, it was an issue of race. I’m just glad that I have been validated."

Despite this new information, Stanley has said he will not renominate Gaines for tenure. According to the Faculty Handbook, Stanley has the power to do this in the light of "new evidence." This is what Gaines has been pushing for since his tenure denial was announced.

"In my opinion, he still has to go. This quota problem will not solve itself. As far as I am concerned, we still have a responsibility to the College to deal with this problem before it gets any bigger," reiterated Stanley.

Though recent inquiries made by the NAACP and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) have yielded no results, Gaines is certain that this new evidence will be enough to persuade the associations to censure Pomona.

"They have gone on the record as being racist," stated Gaines. "What more do you need?"

But Stanley is not so sure.

"It is true that in most cases, the College would be in deep, deep shit," commented Stanley. "But we are counting on the fact that these organizations have dealt with Gaines before. They know him, and they don’t like him much either. As far as I am concerned, I would be very surprised if they supported him under any conditions."

Gaines maintains that he is a martyr., and will continue to battle to keep his job as long as he possibly can. When asked why he would possibly want to continue to teach at a place where everyone– students, faculty, and administration–hates him devoutly, Gaines was uncharacteristically silent.

"I feel it is my call to teach psychology very poorly at a small liberal arts college," stated Gaines solemnly. "I feel that it is the most I can do for our children. Why these people want to deny me this, I do not know."

Stanley replied with a chuckle, "I hate to see a grown man cry, but as far as the Board of Trustees and I are concerned, it’s time to tow the bastard away."