Well-fed pro-Palestinian partisans wearing identical Gaza-pattern headscarves and surrounded by suspiciously uniform-looking tents, tarps and lawn chairs next to professionally created banners and posters – describe their hardships.
By SOPHIE MANN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Anti-Israel protestors at Princeton University are being teased online after screaming about the pains of the hunger strike they’ve embarked upon as part of their ongoing solidarity movement with the people of Gaza.
One young woman, in a clip circulating online, yells into a megaphone that she and her peers are ‘starving.’
‘I am quite literally shaking right now, as you can see,’ the masked protestor on the Ivy League campus says, adding that based on her assessment of recent meetings with the university, administrators are not in any rush to give the protestors what they’re after.
The clip was mocked online by countless social media users who pointed out the absurdity of the students complaining about their condition on a self-imposed hunger strike.
‘Are we SURE that this isn’t a fantastic SNL skit?’ one user wrote.
The strike, which is nearing its seven-day mark, began last Friday as part of an effort to coerce the school into meeting with them to discuss Princeton’s divestment from Israel, as well as dropping the criminal and disciplinary charges against two students who were arrested last month.
As has been the case at many prestigious US schools, students at Princeton erected last month a Gaza solidarity encampment
The alleged criminal protestors were charged for setting up more than a dozen tents and trespassing into an academic building as part of their ongoing anti-Israel effort.
The speaker went on to describe the current self-imposed symptoms the group on strike is experiencing: ‘We are both hot and cold at the same time.
‘We are all immunocompromised and based on the university’s meeting yesterday with some of our bargaining team, they would love to continue physically weakening us because they can’t stand to say no to unjust murder,’ she proclaimed.
The student then took a degree of ownership for her participation in strike, while also letting everyone know that it’s her birthday.
‘I truly do not feel like I am doing anything special, this is my choice, and I would not spend my birthday doing anything other than being here and standing in solidarity with you all and standing in solidarity with our siblings and innocent people in Gaza,’ she said down the megaphone before starting to chant again.
Reports from the school’s campus suggest that about 15 students were taking part in the hunger strike on Sunday – it is not clear how many remaining holdouts are still opting to go without food.
School authorities, including the president, told students earlier this week that they were actively meeting with the protestors in an attempt to move forward.
‘My colleagues and I are now in direct conversation with the protestors. I have told them that we can consider their 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 leverage,’ wrote president Christopher Eisgruber.
A handful of students were arrested last week after trespassing and setting up more than a dozen tents on the school’s field
Lawrence Hamm (center) of Montclair, who was one of 210 students who participated in the takeover of Nassau Hall at Princeton University on April 14, 1978, speaks with Princeton University students and community members participating in a hunger strike, which started last Friday, inside the Gaza Solidarity Encampment behind Nassau Hall
Social media users were not impressed by the pleas of the students on the self-imposed hunger strike.
‘Poor kid. No one told her that a possible side effect of a hunger strike was being hungry,’ user Mike Runner wrote on X.
‘Considering that they’re at Princeton, you’d think they’d know that a hunger strike would cause….hunger,’ fellow X user odloceangirl noted.
Others took to offering suggestions on how the university should handle the strike.
‘The university should donate their meal cards to actual hungry homeless people who would love a hot meal,’ TV anchor Jessamyn Dodd wrote.
‘Are they continuing attending class and doing homework?’ X user Miles Penn asked.
Some pointed out how the students were being mocked across social media for their whines.
‘I hope they get to know how much they were laughed at for this on WORLD social media!’ one user wrote.
The administrations of many schools across the US have begun stepping up to shut down the student protestors illegally camped on various lawns
The school’s president said he is willing to speak with protestors and hear their position, but will not give their views any special consideration just because they are using coercive means
Data suggest that most Americans are at their wits’ end with regard to the protestors who have been seriously disturbing campus life across the country
A recent DailyMail.com/Tipp survey suggests Americans have long since grown tired of the outrageous demonstrations against Israel taking place on college campuses across the country.
In the poll, which surveyed 1,435 adults, six-in-ten respondents said students should be kicked out of schools for making anti-Semitic commends, and some half of respondents said anti-Israel protestors should lose out on student loan forgiveness opportunities.
Protestors are largely attempting to get their schools to divest from firms that do business with Israel, or any business they themselves do with Israel – a significant ask given the small country’s relevance in the global economy.
As the academic school year draws to a close at most institutions, administrations have gotten serious about shutting their radical students down.
Hundreds of students at Columbia University were arrested last week after a Passover takeover of Hamilton Hall.
Harvard University’s interim president, Alan Garber, warned students that those in an encampment in Harvard Yard could face ‘involuntary leave.’
They would not be allowed on campus, could lose their student housing and might 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 because of disruptions after the dismantling of an encampment last week that resulted in 44 reported arrests. ##