April 10, about 50 protesters led by Occidental Students for Justice in Palestine (Oxy SJP) demonstrated in close proximity to both an “Experience Occidental” admitted students event that took place on the Academic Quad and in Cannon Plaza, and a faculty meeting in Lower Herrick.
This protest comes after a March 11 Oxy SJP rally occurred at an Early Decision admitted students event at Collins House.
In an April 11 email sent to students, faculty and staff, Dean of Students Vivian Garay Santiago said the demonstration disrupted both the admitted students event and the faculty meeting and violated the college’s Right to Dissent and Demonstration Policy. Santiago said the Office of Student Conduct is reviewing photos and videos to identify those who participated in policy violations.
“Those who are found to have repeatedly violated policies may face disciplinary action for multiple offenses,” Santiago said via email.
According to Courtney Stricklin Burgan, senior associate dean of admission, 195 total guests (89 admitted students and their families) attended the admissions event.
“While protestors did not try to enter the space due to clear boundaries, they restricted access to and from the event, necessitating repeated requests to clear pathways so guests could use restrooms and enter and exit the space unimpeded,” Santiago said via email. “Some protestors also insisted that guests accept or decline flyers while making it difficult to navigate the crowded areas. Amplified sound also impacted the event.”
The Right to Dissent and Demonstration Policy specifies that demonstrations may not impede access to or functioning of any college activity or program, and “sound-magnification devices” may not be used in a disruptive manner.
“We did not directly solicit feedback about the demonstration. We did observe that there were families that left the program once the demonstration began,” Burgan said via email.
Oxy JVP Media Liaison Tobias Lodish said admitted students who are coming here to experience Occidental should know what the students stand for.
“If they do come to this school, [they should know] what the students want and what the school stands for as well, considering that they invest millions of dollars in companies that profit off of genocide,” Lodish said. “The school is proud of those investments, and it actively tries to obscure that reality to both current students and potential students.”
According to Senior Director of Communications Rachael Warecki, Occidental’s endowment does not currently include direct investments in Boeing Co., Elbit Systems, Caterpillar Inc., Lockheed Martin and Maersk. Warecki said via email that the Board of Trustees does not intend to make such direct investments in these or other companies in the future.
“Although the college’s endowment value fluctuates, especially given the recent market volatility, the college’s exposure to indirect investments in these five companies is minimal,” Warecki said. “As of August 2024, the total valuation of investments in all five companies was approximately $940,000, amounting to just over 0.13% of total endowment assets.”
Lodish said the college’s demonstration policies are draconian and outrageous.
“You can’t chalk, you can’t use sound amplification even though the school itself uses those things,” Lodish said. “If we think about their event inside Cannon Plaza, they were using sound amplification there.”
Santiago said non-students who came from off campus were “present and intermingling with our student community” and said one of the masked individuals was wearing an offensive shirt.
“The presence of individuals who are not part of our campus community creates a sense of vulnerability and unease for students, faculty and staff,” Santiago said. “It also complicates efforts to maintain a safe and accountable environment, as we cannot rely on established community norms or relationships of trust.”
According to Lodish, some of the off-campus individuals were part of Queers for Palestine LA and were invited by Oxy SJP. Lodish said he and other SJP members who he has spoken to are unaware of the shirt referenced by Santiago and that her vagueness is concerning.
Director and Curator of the Moore Laboratory of Zoology and Biology Professor John McCormack, president of the faculty council, said via email that the faculty meeting was adjourned before discussions of community fears surrounding student visa revocations took place.
Santiago said the protestors caused the faculty meeting to end early and cited policy violations such as “sound amplification, impeding access to a College activity, failure to comply with the directives of a campus official and event space usage policies.”
“I made the call to adjourn because I was afraid some people in the meeting would have anxiety about getting trapped in the room with threatening slogans outside,” McCormack said.
In McCormack’s remarks at the faculty meeting, which were sent to The Occidental, he said he was disturbed by Oxy SJP’s rhetoric used at the March 11 demonstrations and referenced the use of the phrases “we have no patience” and “there are rats at Occidental.”
“It doesn’t take a PhD to recognize the history behind those words. Comparing Jews to vermin is a long-standing antisemitic trope,” McCormack said in his remarks. “What was intended with those words, I don’t know, but what I heard from many Jewish students and colleagues was that the word ‘rats’ felt like a choice. It felt targeted.”
McCormack said via email that he intended to address both the fears of students who have been expressing their right to protest and a group of Jewish students who have expressed to McCormack that they feel unwelcome on campus.
Lodish said the statement was not, nor was it intended to be, antisemitic.
“Leveraging false claims of antisemitism like that one only puts Jewish students further at risk of being ignored when truly antisemitic statements are made,” Lodish said.
According to Santiago, the college is looking into steps towards maintaining a balance between community interests and ensuring accountability.
“We will stand behind students’ right to speak out and express themselves — so long as it is in alignment with campus policies and does not negatively impact members of our community or the college as a whole,” Santiago said.
Contact Ava LaLonde at lalonde@oxy.edu
