Brown University students enter fourth day of hunger strike protest

Madison Crowley,

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A group of students at Brown University are entering the fourth day of their hunger strike protest.

The Brown Divest Coalition shared on X today a video clip of strikers leading protestors across the Main Green at the university’s campus to deliver a 50-page report from 2020 recommending divestment to Brown admin.

Brown University released the following statement:

Around noon on Friday, Feb. 2, a group of Brown University students gathered for a rally on the College Green, announced that 19 students would begin a hunger strike, and moved their demonstration inside the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center. Shortly before 1 pm, students representing the group provided a letter to leaders from Brown’s Division of Campus Life. They described themselves as “a Palestinian- and Jewish-led coalition of 19 students,” and said they would refuse food until a series of demands were met.Campus Life administrators interacted with students during the day, sharing guidance on Brown policies and protocols related to protest and demonstrations. On Friday evening, they provided a letter to the students from Brown President Christina H. Paxson in response to the students’ demands. (That letter is attached here in full.) Among other points, the letters made clear that the health and well-being of our students is important to Brown’s leaders, and the University has a range of resources to provide care related to their physical and emotional health.Our understanding at this time is that students are continuing their hunger strike. Campus Life leaders will continue to communicate with them as they make their own choices moving forward.

The university also released a letter as a response to the hunger strike:

This is a letter to the students from Brown President Christina H. Paxson. (Brown University)

University Spokesperson Brian Clark furthermore added:

Brown’s endowment is not directly invested in any defense stocks or large munitions manufacturers. And while our contracts with external investment managers have confidentiality provisions that prevent us from sharing what specific assets Brown’s endowment is invested in at any given time, our inability to disclose details does not indicate that we are invested in a specific holding. We are confident that our external managers have the highest level of ethics and share the values of the Brown community, including the rejection of violence.

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Categories: News, Rhode Island

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