Four San Francisco State University students with strong convictions and unnerving stares recently wrapped up the first 24 hours of their hunger strike on behalf of the school’s College of Ethnic Studies, and a rally to show support for their cause is scheduled for Tuesday evening.
These students are on a hunger strike 2 defend &advance #EthnicStudies @ SFSU. Come show your support 2nite @ 6:30pm pic.twitter.com/PCO6XQEEEW
— Alyssa Kang (@1alyssakang) May 3, 2016
The hunger strike began at noon Monday.
Four Ethnic Studies students began a hunger strike this morning, calling for #SFSU to pump $8 million into college pic.twitter.com/bAqBgveMWv
— Michael Barba (@mdbarba) May 2, 2016
These are the four #SFSU students on hunger strike in support of Ethnic Studies who plan to camp on campus pic.twitter.com/1voeKETFWD
— Michael Barba (@mdbarba) May 2, 2016
SF State students marching through campus to protest cuts to Ethnic Studies program. 4 begin hunger strike. @SFSU pic.twitter.com/izilVuUbS8
— Juan Carlos Guerrero (@JuanCarlosABC7) May 2, 2016
If we had to pick a favorite protest sign for a college demonstration, it’s this one:
The hunger strikers, who are calling themselves the Third World Liberation Front 2016, are demanding that the university allocate $8 million to allow the College of Ethnic Studies at the school to “not only sustain itself but thrive.” On Monday, after the students called a press conference to announce their hunger strike, provost Sue Rosser told reporters, “We don’t have $8 million.”
#SFSU provost on student hunger strike: "I think they must have misinformation.” https://t.co/HmfvBOaO58
— Michael Barba (@mdbarba) May 3, 2016
The annual budget for the Ethnic Studies department is around $3.5 million, reports the San Francisco Examiner, and Rosser says all of the colleges at SFSU have been underfunded since the recession in 2009. “I can only reiterate that we are not cutting the budget of Ethnic Studies as we have said repeatedly.”
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Students at @SFSU are on hunger strike against ethnic studies budget cuts. It shouldn't b that students take such measure 4 their rights!!!
— Mira Nabulsi (@MiraGabi) May 3, 2016
Their rights to … do what, exactly?
https://twitter.com/urbannana60/status/727362572685594624
https://twitter.com/brdngresistance/status/727577683429830656
Activism to be taught activism: hunger strike to pretend the recession never happened. https://t.co/CaylQgZDKV : https://t.co/nEEZxF9gQw
— John Frickin Smith (@jfreakins) May 3, 2016
https://twitter.com/mattstat/status/727520499215925248
The Board of Trustees of the California State University system is considering a tuition hike, which would be the first in almost five years.
Ahkeel, @SFSU student on hunger strike "if ethnic studies doesn't get the $8M…We're comin for [Pres. Wong's job]." pic.twitter.com/AwAkAEfVTv
— Natalie Yemenidjian (@nataliemny) May 3, 2016
… and then they can all be unemployed and hungry together.
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