On Tuesday, the Pomona College Judicial Council (JBoard) held a formal presentation about the judicial process following Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr’s decision to invoke the Extraordinary Authority of the President and suspend 12 students without judicial processes due to their alleged involvement in the Oct. 7 occupation of Carnegie Hall.
On Oct. 23, Starr announced the suspension of 10 students. Since then, two more students have also been issued full academic-year suspensions.
The session began with an introduction to the Preliminary Sanction Review Board (PSRB), which responds to student petitions about any interim sanctions that they receive. Composed of two JBoard chairs and two Dean of Students staff members, the PSRB determines through a majority vote whether to uphold or temporarily overturn the sanctions.
A student will then enter either a “full hearing” or a “penalty hearing.” A full hearing is held when the facts of a case are disputed, and a penalty hearing is held when the student agrees to the facts. In either case, the student will make a statement and respond to questions before a panel of JBoard staff, faculty and deans, who will work together on the final disciplinary decision.
“Factors that we consider are any combination of context and factual uncertainty, the proportionality of the interim sanction relative to the alleged violation, the well-being of the respondent and the entire college community, as well as case history file,” Graham Robbins PO ’27, associate chair of JBoard, said.
However, speakers explained, the aforementioned process may be overridden if the President of Pomona College exercises their extraordinary authority, which is endowed by the Student Code.
“When a case arises, the president is within their power to put forth a sanction and not have the process go through the Judicial Board route that may have otherwise happened,” Cate Pesner PO ’27, associate chair of JBoard, said. “This has happened before.”
When Starr suspended 12 students earlier this month, she exercised her extrajudicial power to do so, meaning that there was no judicial process.
“In conformity with the authority delegated to the president by the Board of Trustees, the severity of the circumstances, and the sweeping effect on our community, these cases are not subject to discipline by the Judicial Council,” Starr said in her email to the community on Oct. 23.
According to the Student Code, extraordinary authority can only be used to ensure “the safety of individuals, the protection of property, and the continuity of the educational process.” In her email, Starr argued that the situation in Carnegie corresponded with these descriptions.
“These actions and events violated the rights of hundreds of students as well as the faculty and staff forced to leave Carnegie, or blocked from their work,” she said. “The damage to Carnegie, including to teaching infrastructure, was egregious.”
The speakers went on to clarify certain misunderstandings, stating that the present JBoard was not involved in the compilation of the demonstration policy or the identification process of students.
Acknowledging that it could be frustrating that the president holds the power to bypass judicial processes, Se’maj Griffin PO ’26, associate chair of JBoard, spoke about how JBoard still holds a prominent influence on the college’s disciplinary decisions.
“It’s not only a student-led, student-run committee, but it also has a unique place within the entire United States educational institutions that trust students to even have such a strong position within the judicial process,” she said.
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