This Monday marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, which has since been followed by an extreme military retaliation from Israel on the Gaza Strip. The conflict has reverberated globally, including at the 5Cs, where students have repeatedly demonstrated against Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and decried Pomona College’s investments in weapons manufacturers linked to the conflict.
Last May, students and faculty at Pomona voted to divest from “weapons manufacturers” and corporations “complicit with war crimes and other human rights violations committed by the Israeli government.”
Yet, despite sweeping majority opinions among both students and faculty, the premise of the vote remains unacknowledged by the Board of Trustees and the divide between students and administration has only widened. To mediate these tensions, and to provide students with a voice at the table, Pomona should appoint a voting student member to its Board of Trustees.
Pomona students do already possess a degree of representation on the Board. Twice a month, Associated Students of Pomona College’s (ASPC) Board of Trustees representative for student affairs voices students’ concerns through bi-semesterly reports to the Board. While the position somewhat allows students to express themselves to the Board, it lacks the power of a vote to effectively communicate students’ concerns and provide the student body with real representation at the decision table.
Instead of granting students a voting voice, administrators have focused on fostering open dialogue between the Board, students and faculty in response to rising tensions between students and administration. Yet, after countless escalations and confrontations, it’s clear that the divide between students and the Board runs so deep that student representation isn’t just a potential solution — it’s a necessity.
No amount of dialogue can replace having a seat at the decision-making table. That said, in these polarizing times, it’s uncertain whether a student trustee alone could effectively bridge the divide between students and the administration. However, as Pomona prides itself on fostering hands-on learning and intellectual engagement with the world, this would be a principled decision that would demonstrate a genuine respect for its students.
The disconnect between students and the administration extends beyond challenges like the conflict in Gaza. As a piece in last week’s TSL issue on Pomona’s fire response illustrated, administration often appears detached and unresponsive to the issues affecting students — even when these situations pose risks to their health and well-being. Absent a persistent, consequential student voice, the Board of Trustees has grown increasingly disconnected from day-to-day concerns of student life. This disconnect is not just a failure of the Board but a fundamental flaw in how it communicates with students and implements decisions.
The Board of Trustees is tasked with the crucial responsibility of overseeing and guiding the mission of the college. Such a responsibility should not preclude student participation on the Board, but guarantee it.
Students provide a unique perspective that differs from that of existing stakeholders on how institutional responsibility should guide investments. Adding students to the committee would remove the bureaucratic barriers that dilute and overlook student concerns, which would eliminate the need for Board members to speculate on student needs. Moreover, if Pomona is genuinely dedicated to fostering diversity within its community, it should build a Board that reflects the rapidly evolving priorities of its diverse student body.
While critics may argue that students lack adequate financial and managerial experience to hold voting positions, the reality is that students have the purest understanding of what they need. If Pomona’s administrators truly believe in the quality of their education and the prudence and capabilities of their students, they would entrust them with a voting voice at the decision-making table.
Other institutions, including Cornell University, have demonstrated their trust by electing student trustees to their Boards for decades. Appointing a student trustee does not diminish or undermine the Board’s expertise — it enhances the Board’s ability to govern by bringing in lived experiences and the authentic voices of students.
Pomona’s students deserve more than just a voice in the room, they deserve a vote at the table. It’s well past time for the Board of Trustees to go beyond rhetoric and appoint a student trustee. By doing so, Pomona would take a decisive step toward truly living its commitment to shared governance and mutual respect.
Eric Lu PO ’28 is from Salt Lake City, Utah. He is excited to continue exploring Claremont and Los Angeles.
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