If you are a parent, you have likely encountered a situation where your child throws a tantrum on the floor, refusing to eat dinner. In such instances, it is common for parents to leave the child there until they become hungry enough. However, it seems that some elite Harvard students did not learn this life lesson from their nannies.
On Friday, more than 30 pro-Palestinian Harvard students participated in a hunger strike to express solidarity with 17 Brown University students who had been refusing to eat for eight days.
These Brown students were protesting and demanding that their university divest from companies associated with Israel due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza following the attacks on Israel on October 7. After being denied by the Brown administration, the 17 students ended their strike on February 9, after eight days, while 200 other students completed 32 hours. The Harvard participants also broke their fast alongside them, but only after a mere 12 hours.
The organizers stated that the Harvard students were “committed to a day-long hunger strike to prove to university corporations that we will not back down,” until the universities divest. Or, as it turned out, until dinnertime.
More than 30 pro-Palestinian Harvard students participated in a 12-hour hunger strike Friday in solidarity with students at Brown University pressuring the Brown Corporation to divest from Israel.@mnamponsah and @AzusaLippit report.https://t.co/SePl9AvkHI
— The Harvard Crimson (@thecrimson) February 12, 2024
The purpose of a hunger strike is to demonstrate the gravity of the issue at hand.
Gandhi, in his pursuit of Indian independence, is reputed to have abstained from food for 21 days at the age of 74. Scientific American reports that other hunger strikers have documented fasts lasting up to 40 days.
As for the Harvard students, they chose to forgo their midday snack as a testament to their commitment. Although the duration of the Harvard students’ fast may not have been sufficient to experience genuine hunger pangs, numerous individuals on the internet found amusement in clutching their stomachs while laughing.
“If you eat dinner at 8pm and breakfast at 8 am you too can be a brave hunger striker for justice,” one X user wrote.
If you eat dinner at 8pm and breakfast at 8 am you too can be a brave hunger striker for justice
— Doc Mingo (@unrepentantpop) February 13, 2024
Then, after trying not to eat for 12 hours, each Harvard student texted mom and dad to send money for extra food so they could recover from this harrowing experience.
— rob berg (@robberg15) February 13, 2024
I’m trying to live up to the high standards of the @Harvard students who just did a 12-hour hunger fast for some cause or the other, so I’m sleeping in tomorrow and having a late breakfast. 8 pm-8 am without eating a bite! Now you know why I call myself the New Gandhi
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) February 13, 2024