Around 30 students picketed the entrances to Pomona College’s Frary dining hall at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 10 — chanting, holding cardboard signs and drumming on buckets. The demonstration, organized by the Claremont Student Workers Alliance (CSWA), encouraged 5C students to boycott the dining hall and advocate for the reinstatement of recently fired cook Rolando “Rolo” Araiza.
Picketers said the boycott directly pressured Pomona to rehire Rolo, asking students to spend meal-plan money at the other colleges. They added that making noise in the picket line drew attention to their cause, something other forms of demonstrations may not accomplish.
“I think you can do a lot of talking, but I think when you really start singing and yelling is when you can really get your message across in different ways,” Una Marie Lake SC ’29 said.
Tag: Elias Pleucker
Pomona ASPC and CSWA continue efforts to reinstate dining hall worker Rolando Araiza
ASPC unanimously voted to pass a CSWA-backed resolution that demands the rehiring of Frary dining hall cook and union leader Rolando Araiza on Thursday. The decision solidifies ASPC’s support in presenting the resolution to the Pomona College administration.
Since Araiza’s termination Jan. 29, CSWA has collaborated with students and dining hall staff to collect over 900 signatures from the 5C community in support of Araiza’s reinstatement.
“The support from the students was really powerful and heartwarming and meant a lot to the workers,” CSWA member and author of the resolution Elias Pleucker PO ’28 said.
Moving forward, ASPC President Grace Zheng PO ’26 said it will be up to the two sponsors, Murphy-Pearson and Vice President of Student Affairs Ireland Griffin PO ’26, to spearhead the next steps in fulfilling the resolution’s demands.