Princeton University students launch hunger strike as pro-Palestinian encampment continues
PRINCETON, N.J (CBS) -- Princeton University students began a hunger strike Friday in solidarity with millions of Palestinians in Gaza as Israel's war against Hamas continues.
"Our hunger strike is a response to the administration's refusal to engage with our demands for dissociation and divestment from Israel. We refuse to be silenced by the University administration's intimidation and repression tactics. We struggle together in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We commit our bodies to their liberation," the Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest wrote in a release.
According to the news release, the students participating in the hunger strike will abstain from all food and drink (except water) until the university meets with students to discuss divestment and a "cultural boycott of Israel."
The group also wants Princeton to reverse "all campus bans and evictions of students."
Last week, 13 people were arrested at Princeton after an attempted sit-in at Clio Hall. The arrests included five undergraduates, six graduate students, a postdoctoral researcher and "one person not affiliated with the University."
All 13 people arrested received summonses for trespassing and were banned from campus. The students were disciplined by Princeton, including a possible suspension or expulsion.
Princeton students have had a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus for nearly two weeks -- similar to others on college campuses across the county.
Last week, students at Rutgers cleared their encampment after they came to an agreement with the university.
In Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania, students still have an encampment in support of the people of Gaza, despite a petition with thousands of signatures asking for the encampment to be disbanded.