Brown University students go on hunger strike for divestment from Israel

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Brown University shared Friday that a Palestinian and Jewish-led coalition of 19 students began a hunger strike.

Following several student-lead actions last fall, students are once again calling upon the university to completely divest its involvement from companies profiting from the genocide in Gaza.

The group striking consists of Palestinian students, Jewish students, as well as students from several allied student groups.

University Spokesperson Brian Clark said that they are following the students actions and will provide updates as things develop.

Students taking part in the strike will be refusing food until the body of the Brown University Corporation considers a resolution in their upcoming meeting on Feb. 8 and 9.

This hunger strike emphasizes the urgency of passing a divestment resolution rather than delaying the process any further.

The strike will take place daily in Brown’s Campus Center.

The coalition released the following demands:

As we approach week 17 of Israel’s military assault on Gaza, Brown University remains invested in the genocide despite the mounting calls of thousands of Brown students, grad workers, faculty, and alumni for divestment. The Brown Corporation must heed these calls and promote an immediate ceasefire and a lasting peace by divesting its endowment from companies that enable and profit from the genocide in Gaza and broader Israeli occupation.

We, a Palestinian- and Jewish-led coalition of 19 students, will refuse food until the following demands are met: (1) Brown University President Christina Paxson and Chancellor Sam Mencoff must publicly commit to including a divestment resolution on the agenda of the Brown Corporation’s February 8/9 meeting; this resolution must be based on the Brown University Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Practices (now the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management) 2020 report“To Recommend Divestment from Companies that Facilitate the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territory.” (2) The administration must permit representatives from the Brown Divest Coalition to present the case for divestment to the Corporation. (3) Upon the fulfillment of demands one and two, the Brown Corporation must publicly commit to conduct a formal vote on this resolution as a full body in the presence of the coalition representatives. We will hunger strike until these demands are met in full.

Brown sent a letter to the students and released the following statement on the strike:

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. 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.