A message from campus leadership addressing the serious incident that occurred on campus last Friday during the President's Inauguration ceremony.
Dear Campus Community,
By now, many of you are aware of the serious incident that occurred on campus last Friday during the President’s Inauguration ceremony. A group of students and other individuals who deliberately concealed their identities attempted to force entry into the event, violating the clearly communicated guidelines established to ensure the safety of our community and guests.
While protests are meant to be uncomfortable, this protest crossed the line by creating a dangerous situation for all involved. Protestors physically pushed against a line of unarmed security personnel and College staff, who documented physical attacks and other policy violations while working to prevent them from entering the event. Protestors’ actions created risk of physical harm to both themselves and others by crowding and pushing upward on a flight of concrete stairs, despite multiple instructions to move back and disperse.
The College proactively monitored the event through multiple means, including video captured by staff and standing cameras. The College is conducting a comprehensive review of the evidence. 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. We understand that incomplete narratives without full context have been circulating. These, quite simply, do not provide a complete view of what occurred. Surveillance footage clearly shows that the protestors surged the entrance and immediately initiated physical contact. We will be sharing this footage with faculty leadership and other internal stakeholders.
Any individuals found to be responsible for misconduct will be held accountable in accordance with our institutional policies.
We received reports that multiple individuals in the community called LAPD out of concern for their own and others’ safety, but LAPD officers were not involved in the disruption and never came into contact with students, as the protestors had all dispersed by the time they arrived on campus.
While we continue to support and uphold students’ rights to peacefully protest, the events of Friday were not peaceful and fell far outside the boundaries of acceptable conduct. This incident comes only days after a break-in and vandalism at the Telefund site that also appears to have been politically motivated. Occidental has a proud history of peaceful protests and creates abundant space for expressive activity, but the events of last week leave us deeply concerned for the protestors’ disregard for campus policies and safety, and for the wellbeing of our campus community.
Throughout the semester and in the weeks leading up to this event, the college’s leadership team, including President Stritikus, has prioritized meeting with students several times and has made meaningful changes to address their concerns. Over the last few weeks, we have shared several examples of this work in campus communications.
We remain hopeful that, together, we can define a future that is far more positive and constructive than what we've seen this week.
Sincerely,
Tom Stritikus, President
Kathryn Leonard, Dean of the College
Vivian Garay Santiago, Dean of Students