Undeterred by campus crackdowns, SoCal college students stage hunger strikes in support of Gaza

Students across the country are staging hunger strikes in solidarity with Palestinian families in Gaza, calling for their campuses to divest from weapons manufacturers, among other demands.

Students at several Southern California universities, and a quarter of the California State University campuses, have now joined a movement that calls for schools to sever ties with military-industrial companies and draws attention to the plight of about 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who are on the verge of famine.

Last spring, colleges across the country cracked down on Gaza solidarity protests that relied on encampments, often using police force to dismantle them. Some participants have since been charged with failing to disperse and resisting arrest. Students have also faced multi-year suspensions, expulsions and degree revocations. And, in recent months, the Trump administration has detained several noncitizen students and threatened them with deportation.

Students say the hunger strikes are a way to continue that advocacy without being penalized.

A handful of Cal State Long Beach joined the nationwide movement earlier this month. They’ve committed to consuming nothing but water and electrolytes, all while navigating finals.

“The encampments last year were symbolic of the refugee tent cities that had to be erected because of the mass displacement of Palestinians,” said psychology major Marcus Bode.

“Now, [our] hunger strike is an analog to what Palestinians in Gaza are going through,” he added, underscoring that the protest is “a fraction” of what people in the Middle East are experiencing.

What do students want — and do they expect to get it?

So far, students on at least six of the system’s 23 campuses have joined the hunger strike movement. The CSU Long Beach students presented the following demands to administration:

1. "CSU must divest from companies that supply weapons, military and surveillance technology, infrastructure, or conduct business related to activities that violate human rights as defined by international law." 
2. "CSULB must adopt the SF State Human Rights IPS Screening resolution."
3. "CSULB must establish our campus as a Sanctuary Campus for non-citizen students and community members, immediately notify those on campus of ICE or DHS activity on or near campus, [and] create designated anonymous ICE and DHS-free zones for students."
4. "CSULB must lift any and all policies that place restrictive and repressive measures on the usage of free speech, protest, marches, assembly, and demonstration."
5. "The CSU system must end academic partnerships with Zionist universities and the study abroad program, via the CSU International Program at the University of Haifa."

In a statement, CSU Long Beach spokesperson Jim Milbury said campus staff “has been in touch with the students to make sure they have consulted with medical professionals and are staying healthy and safe.”

The CSU Chancellor’s Office said it “honor[s] the right to protest,” but that the system “will not be altering its investment policies.”

What's the long-term plan?

In Southern California, hunger strikes in solidarity with Gaza have been going on since at least April, starting at private institutions, including Chapman University and Occidental College.

Aurora Dorsett, a classics major, is among the seven CSU Long Beach students who joined the hunger strike 11 days ago. She said they decided against a “dry” hunger strike (no food and no water) because they do not expect the administration to readily meet their demands.

“We choose and will continue to choose to move from a place of optimism, as opposed to a place of fear, which is what we know [the] government and administrations want us to do,” they said.

The hunger strikes, Bode added, are also strategic in that students don’t have to worry about being penalized for occupying campus property.

“They cannot take action against us for this,” he said.

As they make their way through campus, Bode, Dorsett and the other students wear shirts that read “HUNGER STRIKE DAY ___.” Each day, they add a mark to the tally.

The shirts are a way to bring what’s going on in Gaza to every classroom and spark conversations, Bode said. “It can be difficult for people [to keep abreast of what’s happening] as they go about their everyday lives, working one to two jobs, studying for finals,” they added.

At least once a day, students in the medical field check on the strikers’ vitals. So far, four students have been compelled to quit because of potentially dangerous health issues. The strikers told LAist they are scheduled to meet with president Jane Close Conoley on Friday.

Dorsett is determined to press on if necessary. Regardless of how the administration responds, she said, “we see this as a meaningful form of resistance.”