Anti-Israel protesters at Princeton University shout about the pains of the hunger strike they have undertaken as part of their ongoing solidarity movement with the people of Gaza.
A young woman, in a video circulating online, shouts through a megaphone that she and her classmates are “dying of hunger.”
“I’m literally shaking right now, as you can see,” says the masked protester on the Ivy League campus, adding that, based on her assessment of recent meetings with the university, administrators are in no rush to give students protesters what they need. you are behind
The strike, which is approaching its seven-day mark, began last Friday as part of an effort to force the school to meet with them to discuss Princeton’s divestment from Israel, as well as to drop criminal and disciplinary charges against two students who were arrested. last month.
Several Princeton students broadcast via megaphone how they feel amid their ongoing hunger strike for Gaza.
As has been the case at many prestigious schools in the United States, Princeton students set up a Gaza solidarity camp last month.
The alleged criminal protesters were accused of setting up more than a dozen tents and invading an academic building as part of their ongoing anti-Israel effort.
The speaker went on to describe the self-imposed symptoms currently experienced by the striking group: ‘We are hot and cold at the same time.
“We are all immunocompromised and, according to the university’s meeting yesterday with some members of our negotiating team, they would love to continue weakening us physically because they cannot bear to say no to an unjust murder,” he proclaimed.
The student then took some degree of responsibility for her participation in the strike while also letting everyone know that it is her birthday.
“I don’t really feel like I’m doing anything special, this is my choice, and I wouldn’t spend my birthday doing anything other than being here and standing in solidarity with all of you and standing in solidarity with our brothers and innocent people in Gaza.” she said into the megaphone before starting to sing again.
Reports from the school’s campus suggest that about 15 students participated in Sunday’s hunger strike; It is unclear how many of those who resist still choose to go without food.
School officials, including the president, told students earlier this week that they were actively meeting with protesters in an attempt to move forward.
‘My colleagues and I are now in direct conversation with the protesters. “I have told you that we can consider your concerns through appropriate processes that respect the interests of multiple parties and viewpoints, but we cannot allow any group to circumvent those processes or exert special influence,” wrote President Christopher Eisgruber.
A small group of students were arrested last week after trespassing and setting up more than a dozen tents on the school field.
Lawrence Hamm (center) of Montclair, one of the 210 students who participated in the storming of Nassau Hall at Princeton University on April 14, 1978, speaks with Princeton University students and community members who participated in a hunger strike that began last Friday. Inside the Gaza Solidarity Camp, behind Nassau Hall
Administrations of many schools in the US have begun taking measures to crack down on student protesters illegally camped on various campuses.
The school president said he is willing to talk to protesters and listen to their position, but he will not give any special consideration to their views just because they are using coercive means.
The data suggests that most Americans are unhinged about the protesters who have been seriously disrupting college life across the country.
A recent DailyMail.com/Tipp poll suggests that Americans have long tired of the raucous anti-Israel demonstrations taking place on college campuses across the country.
In the survey, which polled 1,435 adults, six in ten respondents said students should be expelled from schools for making anti-Semitic praise, and about half of respondents said anti-Israel protesters should lose opportunities for condonation. of student loans.
The protesters are largely trying to get their schools to divest from companies that do business with Israel, or any business they themselves do with Israel, an important request given the small country’s relevance in the global economy.
As the academic year draws to a close at most institutions, administrations have gotten serious about shutting down their radical students.
Hundreds of Columbia University students were arrested last week after the Easter takeover of Hamilton Hall.
Harvard University Acting President Alan Garber warned students that those found encamped in Harvard Yard could face “involuntary leave.”
They would not be allowed on campus, could lose their student housing, and would not be able to take exams.
At the University of California, San Diego, police cleared an encampment and arrested more than 64 people, including 40 students.
The University of California, Los Angeles moved classes online for the week due to disruptions following the dismantling of an encampment last week that resulted in 44 reported arrests.