The board didn’t make this decision, despite many of them saying they did, it was made minus the input of the majority of the members and came mostly if not completely from Paul Efron and the Audit Committee (a financial advising committee). Beyond that question of logistics, students are not being truly honest with themselves if they think they can or will adequately represent the interests and perspectives of the Pomona workers. Having both worked on labor issues at Pomona extensively, we both know that most students don’t think about workplace realities on a regular basis and even among the many thoughtful people who do, there are very few students willing to take a meaningful action in opposition of administration or status quo stances.

I hope recent events have changed the nature of discussion on campus, but I was always frustrated in the past number of years to find how many students turned the unionization efforts into an opportunity to critique other students or to critique workers as lacking strategy or being misled by domineering students and organizers- as if people are willing to take very real risks (as proven by the firings) regarding their livelihood just because students talk persuasively. A union is pretty much the only way dining hall workers receive a regular, reliable voice in how the college is run. If it remains the case that most students believe the administration line that managers need free speech during a unionization process or that these firings had nothing to do with unionization, than I think it’s not hard to understand my skepticism regarding a movement in support of workers becoming a movement demanding increased student voice.

HOWEVER, and here comes the constructive criticism, as a head sponsor, while it is certainly your prerogative to bring up these issues that are on our thoughtful students’ minds (especially people of color/minorities!!), it is NOT OK to alienate the rest of the community with your tone and the sense of urgency you imbue on the issue. In fact, the best way of approaching this issue is IN THE CLASSROOM (as I have done), through STUDENT DIALOGUE (as we do so much of, informally-in the dining hall, etc.–and formally), and through COMMON SENSE. Certainly, as a public school Jew from a middle class background, I was alienated in my visits to schools like Amherst, Princeton, Williams, etc. where I COULD SENSE an air of entitlement, elitism, and snobbery from a whole other world that I DIDN’T FIT INTO OR UNDERSTAND. I chose Pomona because the vibe was the exact opposite-smart, diverse, open people who would talk about almost anything with few qualms. In my time at Pomona I’ve met and befriended (not to mentioned lived with, in close quarters) people of all color/nationality/socioeconomic background. This is the plus of Pomona. But as a student, to sanctimoniously lecture the entire community on what should be learned through experience, intellectual pursuit, empathy, common sense, and love for one another as members of a community, well, it’s self-defeating. So, here’s my advice, and it’s what President Oxtoby gave us as advice on graduation day: PEOPLE matter, IDEAS matter, and the TRUTH matters. If you’d kindly be more sensitive to ALL of the people involved, ALL of the ideas involved, while also recognizing the core truths of the situation, the Pomona College community would be the better for it. That’s all I ask. The issues you raise are certainly valid, just think how your position, tone, and choice of words/forums matter.

Cheers,

Andrew

While the Admissions Office does not publish specific diversity information about the applicant pool, whether it is about racial background, income levels, or other forms of categorization, the information is archived and available. Last year the Asian American Studies program held a joint panel lecture/discussion with AAMP, and the professors on the panel openly discussed the specific percentages and data of admission rates and demographics of the student population at Pomona over the course of the past 2 decades. I am not sure where specifically the professors got their information from, but I also don’t suppose the admissions office would refuse to give out such information if one were to inquire specifically, because it’s not exactly confidential or sensitive information.

Best,

HF