February 14, 2024
Brown University Students Are on a Hunger Strike for Palestine
By Finn Cooley
On Friday, students at Brown began the longest hunger strike for Palestine in the US, calling on the university to divest their endowment.
(Brown Divest Coalition)
At 12:30 PM on Friday, February 2, a group of 19 students at Brown University began what has become the largest hunger strike for Palestine in the United States since the war in Gaza began. The strikers have promised to refuse food until the university administration agrees to bring a resolution to the Brown Corporation, the university’s chief governing body, to divest its endowment from companies that provide weapons and equipment to the Israeli government.
Student activists say the strike was their last resort after the university refused to consider divestment following protests in the fall. Those actions included two separate sit-ins undertaken by more than 60 students, all of whom were arrested for trespassing.
“Although I feel a little dizzy, I do know that I am privileged,” said a Palestinian student at a rally on Monday during his fourth day without food. “If a medical issue was to arise, I would be immediately rushed to the hospital, something my people in Gaza no longer have.”
