MAM Petition and Threats of Escalation

April 17, 2024

Dear Harvey Mudd community,

On April 9 and April 10, a member of our staff and a member of our faculty were approached in their offices with campaign materials by masked members of the Mudders Against Murder (MAM) group. Their petition demanded that the College “cuts all ties with defense, defense product suppliers, weapons manufacturers, and weapons manufacturing-affiliated companies” including ties with organizations such as Google, Amazon, Amazon Labs, Juniper Networks, General Motors, etc. The petition demanded that the Clinic Program and OCS “deliver a written commitment to our demands and a concrete plan with next steps” by April 16 and April 17.  

Yesterday, the recipients received follow up emails from [MAM email address removed]; these emails are appended below. These messages from MAM state, “we are reminding you that the deadline for a response is tomorrow night, (4/16 and 4/17). Otherwise, we interpret this as a refusal to engage and will be forced to escalate.”  The emails do not indicate what form of escalation is being contemplated.

There has been discussion among various leadership groups at the College about this matter and many steps have been taken. Given the nature of the most recent messages, we have been encouraged by the Department Chairs Committee to share this information broadly.

Some members of our community have expressed genuine concern for their safety and security, including in the presence of masked protestors that are unknown to them. Some are wishing to now work from home and expressly not be on campus for events that may be targeted. Some want more information about our philosophy on engaging Campus Safety and when they should call the police.

Since the initial delivery of the petitions to both Clinic and OCS, various steps have been taken by different members of our community to invite students into dialogue on the issues of concern to MAM group members. Despite these steps, MAM’s stated position is that anything less than full and immediate compliance with the group’s demands will be regarded as a “refusal to engage.”  Some of the recent steps to engage have included: 

  • Direct email to MAM offering to meet and discuss further
  • Student-centered lunchtime dialogues with Clinic Directors
  • Impromptu meetings with MAM students
  • Formation of a Strategic Planning Task Force on Clinic and Corporate Partnerships
  • Individual faculty member outreach offering to meet with MAM students
  • Generative ideation session during reading days facilitated by Clinic directors
  • Community-wide conversations on the Community-L listserv

We are not aware of any direct response from MAM regarding these steps. 

We acknowledge that some members of our community may be feeling unsafe given these threats as well as the recent events in Claremont and around the world. We would like to refer any community members who may be feeling unsafe to use the Claremont Colleges LiveSafe app, which includes a link to Campus Safety, the Optum Employee Assistance Program (faculty and staff), or to the health and wellness resources offered by the College through the Office of Health and Wellness, 7C.Health and the Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services (MCAPS) (students).

In closing, we remain hopeful that our community can unite to work toward finding creative solutions on this important issue while upholding our shared values of compassion and mutual respect. 

Sincerely,

Harriet B. Nembhard, President
Karen Angemi, Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Thyra Briggs, Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid
Andrew Dorantes, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Tom Donnelly, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
Tim Hussey, Chief Communications Officer and Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Cindy Martinez, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Kimberly Stafford, Interim Vice President for Advancement
Joseph Vaughan, CIO and Vice President of Computing and Information Services


———- Forwarded message ———

From: Mudders Against Murder <[email address removed]>
Date: Tue, Apr 16, 2024 at 5:51 PM
Subject: Reminder of MAM Deadline
To: <[email address removed]>, <[name of individual staff member removed]>

Hello!

This is a reminder that 1 week ago, OCS was asked to reach out to MAM outlining a concrete plan to implement our demands for cutting ties with weapons manufacturers and defense industry-affiliated companies. Seeing as we haven’t been contacted at all since then, we are reminding you that the deadline for a response is tonight, 4/16. Otherwise, we interpret this as a refusal to engage and will be forced to escalate.

Best,
Mudders Against Murder

———- Forwarded message ———

From: Mudders Against Murder <[email address removed]> 
Date: Tue, Apr 16, 2024 at 5:55 PM
Subject: Reminder of MAM deadline
To: <[name of individual faculty member removed]>

Hello!

This is a reminder that last week, Engineering Clinic was asked to reach out to MAM outlining a concrete plan to implement our demands for cutting ties with weapons manufacturers and defense industry-affiliated companies. Seeing as we haven’t been contacted at all since then, we are reminding you that the deadline for a response is tomorrow night, 4/17. Otherwise, we interpret this as a refusal to engage and will be forced to escalate.

Best,
Mudders Against Murder