A crowd of roughly 30 Occidental Students for Justice in Palestine (Oxy SJP) protesters attempted to force their way through Campus Safety and Code Four private security guards into President Tom Stritikus’s inauguration April 25, leading to a confrontation on the steps to the Remsen Bird Hillside Theater.
The protest began about an hour into the ceremony around 4 p.m., shortly after Board of Trustees Chair Lisa Link introduced Stritikus. At the end of the ceremony, Stritikus paused the closing to inform the audience a protest was in progress and that someone had called 911, but that Campus Safety was not anticipating any threat to the audience. The inauguration continued and by 4:18 p.m., the protesters dispersed, faculty began their exit procession and Dean of Students Vivian Garay Santiago began directing audience members to leave.
Vice President of Marketing and Communications Perrine Mann said three Campus Safety personnel, five guards from Code Four and roughly 30 protesters were involved.
In a video posted to Oxy SJP’s Instagram account April 26, Campus Safety and private security can be seen pushing protesters on cement steps, grabbing a protester by the hair, ripping off a protester’s keffiyeh and seizing a bullhorn from a protester. Another protester can be seen falling down the steps.
In the Instagram post, Oxy SJP accused Occidental’s General Counsel Nora Kahn of filming the protest on her personal cell phone, inflaming the protest. Oxy SJP also claimed a Code Four guard used a racial slur against protesters while demanding they disperse and that event security injured protesters, resulting in $1,000 worth of medical bills. The Occidental was unable to verify the medical bills, but Oxy SJP posted them on their Instagram story which has since expired.
“During this violent attack, many students were flung to the ground while others received serious injuries to their heads, ribs, eyes, necks and backs. Already two have been taken to the ER,” Oxy SJP said in their April 26 post. “In between swings, a non-Black officer repeatedly yelled ‘Get out of here you n-words’ to the student protesters.”
Director of Campus Safety Rick Tanksley did not respond to The Occidental’s request for a comment on the event security’s actions during the protest.
Mann said the college will conduct a thorough investigation looking into the actions of Oxy SJP and event security.
“The College has not confirmed these claims, nor has the College received any such claims directly. If any violations of College policy occurred — including by students, staff or private security — appropriate actions will be taken in accordance with our institutional policies,” Mann said via email. “We will share a more complete account once the review has concluded and encourage those with information — including information about any injuries — to provide it immediately to the Dean of Students Office.”
Mann said the college considers Oxy SJP’s video to pose a risk to Campus Safety officers.
“Over the past week, members of Campus Safety have been harrassed,” Mann said. “Additionally, they were doxxed in a very public way that is not in alignment with our community standards.”
Tobias Lodish (sophomore), the spokesperson for Occidental’s SJP and Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) chapters, said he was not involved in the protest but is concerned for the well-being of injured protesters.
“Many students might not recover for some time — or ever. The true physical toll is likely continuing to unfold as injuries persist and their severity surfaces,” Lodish said. “I didn’t know [the protest] was happening, so I couldn’t have gone [and] I don’t know anyone who was in attendance.”
The Occidental was unsuccessful in its efforts to interview inauguration protesters.
Mann and Senior Director of Communications Rachel Warecki shared two 30-second clips of CCTV footage of the protest with The Occidental in two separate Zoom calls. The administration also shared clips with student leaders and the college’s Faculty Council.
Mann and Warecki said the videos will be widely released after the college completes its investigation. According to Mann, the investigation could take several weeks.
The first video showed a bird’s-eye view from behind Campus Safety’s positions. Roughly 30 protesters marched up to three Code Four security guards, pushing them back up the first set of steps as more Code Four and Campus Safety personnel formed a human wall to hold the protesters back. The protesters wore coverings over their faces and one carried a megaphone.
The second video showed a clearer bird’s-eye view of the same area from a different angle. This time, The Occidental observed the protesters bypass one Code Four guard while pushing the other two up the first set of steps as security personnel formed a human chain. A fourth security guard appeared from the rear, along with three more including the bypassed guard, forming a human wall to hold back the protesters. Two Campus Safety officers also came into view.
Mann said the protesters were not allowed into the event for violating multiple rules in the college’s event security policies and Right to Dissent and Demonstration Policy.
“The protesters did not present identification, as all attendees were required to do, and instead attempted to physically force their way into the event,” Mann said. “They also carried bullhorns, refused to identify themselves upon request, refused to follow college officials’ instructions to back up and refused to disperse.”
Stritikus said in an interview with The Occidental that the protesters endangered themselves and security, and that Oxy SJP may have included people unaffiliated with Occidental in this protest. Other outside groups were in attendance at Oxy SJP’s April 10 Admitted Students Day demonstration.
“A group of individuals, at least some of [whom] we know to be students, [created a] very dangerous situation by rushing up cement steps and pushing their way into a group of Campus Safety and private security,” Stritikus said.
Stritikus said he was not fully aware of what was happening during the protest.
“I was under the assumption, as I was speaking, that this was a peaceful protest of people chanting. I did not realize the range of policy violations that went on as I was speaking,” Stritikus said. “It was not until after my speech that I understood there was a problematic interaction, and I didn’t understand the nature of it until well after.”
Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) President Cecelia Grané said that while ASOC has no official stance on the protest, she is opposed to parts of the college’s new Right to Dissent and Demonstration Policy.
“I have expressed my opposition for the policy with President Stritikus and in ASOC branch meetings due to the alienation of people who may be immunocompromised, ill or wearing coverings due to religious/cultural reasons,” Grané said via email. “The constraints to enforce this among masked community members who the policy primarily aims to target and the stripping of student autonomy/identity protections, which is of great concern as we witness the doxxing of student protesters.”
Oxy SJP strongly condemned the administration’s response to the protest and accused Santiago of calling 911 in their April 26 Instagram post.
“While engaging in peaceful protest, campus police and private hired security brutalized the very students they are paid to protect. […] Vivian Santiago became the first Occidental administrator to invite the notoriously violent LAPD onto our campus […]. We must speak out against this unprecedented violence and repression,” Oxy SJP said on Instagram. “Shame on you [Tom Stritikus] and the Board of Trustees. You are a disgrace, and we, the students, stand against you today and every day that follows.”
Santiago said she did not call 911, but that multiple people in the audience did and that the LAPD had no confrontation with protesters.
“While I did not personally contact the LAPD, I am aware that multiple calls were made to them by staff and possibly others who witnessed the event,” Santiago said via email. “My understanding is that members of the Campus Safety staff engaged with LAPD after their arrival and once the protesters had dispersed.”
Sixteen student affinity and activist groups — including the Black Student Alliance (BSA), Latine Student Union (LSU), Middle Eastern and North African Students Association (MENASA), South Asian Students Association (SASA), Oxy Labor Alliance (OLA) and Oxy Sexual Assault Coalition (OSAC) — formed a POC Coalition. They issued an April 30 email of condemnation to Stritikus and other administrators.
“We condemn the use of violence, as well as the College’s decision to contract private security, many of whom are former LAPD and other police officers discharged for misconduct. We are also deeply disappointed by the administration’s — specifically Dean Vivian Santiago’s decision to call the police to campus. Since the 2015 occupation, Occidental’s administration has maintained a precedent of refusing to invite law enforcement on campus, a commitment which serves to protect the safety and comfortability of all students on campus, but particularly students of color who are disproportionately affected by police brutality,” the POC Coalition said in their email. “We have lost confidence in the administration’s ability to appropriately handle student demonstrations, the security of students and to accurately represent events when communicating with the community.”
Santiago denied the existence of any formal or informal commitment to keeping the LAPD off Occidental’s campus.
“I understand that many in our community believe such an agreement exists. However, to my knowledge, the college has never made such a commitment,” Santiago said. “Since the 2015 AGC Occupation, LAPD has responded to a range of incidents on campus — including medical emergencies and reports of crime. In those instances, calls have come from both staff and students, depending on the situation.”
The BSA and LSU also made an April 30 Instagram post condemning campus safety and private security for their actions and alleged use of derogatory racial slurs, and Kahn for filming protesters. Both groups said the administration’s response sets a dangerous precedent for Occidental’s future willingness and ability to protect students, particularly students of color.
“We, Black and Latine students at Occidental College, write to denounce the violence that took place this past inauguration, where students (including many from our community) were brutalized and silenced while exercising their constitutional rights to protest and assembly. While our organizations did not organize this protest, the repression and violence unleashed by this administration have profound effects that disproportionately impact Black and Latine students,” the BSA and LSU said on Instagram. “The administration’s escalating aggression and violence against students is not only unacceptable, but it is also outright dangerous. Under any reasonable logic, students attempting to enter a president’s inauguration event (at their own school) does not constitute an emergency.”
The college shared an official email statement by the Occidental College Faculty Council, which was unanimously approved, admonishing Oxy SJP’s protest, as well as expressing concern for the nature of future student protests on campus.
“The members of the Faculty Council express our deep concern regarding the incident at Friday’s inauguration ceremony, where protest activity escalated into a physical confrontation. Peaceful protest is a protected and valued part of academic life. Actions that endanger others are not,” the Faculty Council statement said. “We call on students to honor the principles of dialogue and nonviolence that sustain academic communities, and on faculty to continue modeling and encouraging forms of protest and advocacy that reflect those values.”
The Occidental reached out to various faculty members and new Council President, Professor of History and Asian Studies Alexander “Sasha” Day — none responded to requests for an interview. Former Council President, Director and Curator of the Moore Laboratory of Zoology and Professor of Biology John McCormack declined to comment.
As of May 4, Stritikus said he has not been in contact with any groups on campus regarding the inauguration protest but remains open to dialogue.
“I fundamentally believe that dissenting voices are critical to who we are at Oxy,” Stritikus said. “There’s a storied tradition of protest and dissent that is so central to our support of academic freedom, but clear violations of policy, clear violations of community norms, clear attempts to put yourself and others in danger are not consistent with that storied tradition.”
Stritikus said he has met with groups critical of the college recently to discuss other matters.
“On April 23, our board chair, our vice chair, our CFO and I met with three groups of students, students from ASOC, students from the Blythe Fund and JVP students advocating for divestment,” Stritikus said. “On Thursday, prior to Friday, I actually met with a group of hunger striking students to discuss issues related to immigration.”
Grané said that ASOC has been active in the aftermath of the protest and plans to create more space for dialogue between students and administrators next year.
“The morning after inauguration, about 30 ASOC members attended a pre-planned training that was extended to include a space for discussion on the matter with Dean Santiago [for nearly three hours]. Many students used the space with Dean Santiago to ask questions and express concerns about the health and safety of protesters who sustained injuries and people who participated in the hunger strike,” Grané said. “Across ASOC, many feel that we need to invite students into these spaces to uplift their voices as much as possible, since we understand that our own views as representatives are largely limited and do not always capture the richness of perspectives held across the student body.”
Grané said ASOC has been in contact with several students and faculty members regarding this and previous Oxy SJP protests and wants ASOC to serve as a bridge between students and administrators.
“Since the college’s new rules regarding the rights to dissent and demonstration, discussions around protest have deviated further and further from the issue at hand that protesters are advocating for and have been more centered around the handling or execution by students and/or admin,” Grané said. “I believe that we need to center our energy around listening to the messages that student activists are trying to send and evaluating how college decisions do or don’t align with our values of equity.”
Contact Jacob Whitney at jwhitney@oxy.edu
