A female protester at Princeton University, who is partaking in a self-imposed hunger strike, has accused the esteemed institution of deliberately "physically weakening" its students.
The protest is against the university's refusal to divest from Israel, following the unprovoked attack by Hamas on the Jewish State on October 7th.
The woman, along with other protesters, was seen in a video expressing her grievances through a megaphone. "This is absolutely unfair. My peers and I, we are starving. We are physically exhausted. I am quite literally shaking right now as you can see," she stated in the video, which has since been widely shared on social media platform X.
The hunger strike, initiated by students on Friday, calls for the university to engage in discussions about divestment. The protesters are also demanding the dismissal of criminal and disciplinary charges against two students who were arrested for setting up tents, and 13 others who were arrested for trespassing an academic hall last month, as reported by The Daily Princetonian, Princeton's student newspaper.
Despite meeting with university administrators on Monday, the students have shown no signs of ending their protest. The female protester, whose rallying cry has gained significant online traction, claimed that the protest has left them "immunocompromised."
"We are both hot and cold at the same time. We are all immunocompromised and based on the universitys meeting yesterday with some of our bargaining team, they would love to continue physically weakening us because they cant stand to say no to unjust murder," she declared amidst cheers and drumming.
However, the woman acknowledged that participating in the hunger strike was a personal decision. "I will say 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," she admitted.
"No matter how physically weak we may be, united we have never been stronger," she added, prompting the crowd to chant, "The people united will never be defeated!"
According to The Daily Princetonian, at least 15 students were participating in the hunger strike as of Sunday night. The current number of participants remains unclear.
In an email sent on Tuesday, Christopher Eisgruber, the Dean of the Graduate School Rodney Priestley, and the Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs Amaney Jamal, informed students that they were in direct communication with the protesters.
"My colleagues and I are now in direct conversation with the protestors," Eisgruber wrote. "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."
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