Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University's Hamilton Hall, after occupying the building for hours, demanded access to food and water from the university authorities on Tuesday. They framed this request as "basic humanitarian aid" to prevent starvation among the protesters.
During a discussion with a reporter, one of the protesters defended the demand, emphasizing the students' right to sustenance, especially considering they pay for meal plans at the university. The reporter challenged this stance, suggesting that the protesters deliberately put themselves in a position of needing assistance.
In response, the protesters argued that they were not asking the university to bring food but rather to allow them to receive basic humanitarian aid. She emphasized that denying access to food and water was unjust, particularly given the students' disagreement with the university's policies.
The protester, identified as Johannah King-Slutzky, has been involved in campus activism and is a PhD student in English and Comparative Literature. The occupation of Hamilton Hall included displaying banners with the word "Intifada," symbolizing an uprising.
Amid the standoff, the university limited access to the campus, and earlier, pro-Palestinian student activists were suspended for refusing to dismantle their protest camp.
In a broader context, the crackdown at Columbia University reflects ongoing Gaza-related protests on university campuses across the US, with similar incidents occurring at the University of Texas at Austin, where police arrested numerous students during a pro-Palestinian rally.
