Occidental students use hunger strike to spotlight Palestinian plight

On Monday, after consulting with medical professionals, 10 students at Occidental College launched a hunger strike, hoping to draw attention to their long-standing demands for the college to divest from weapons manufacturers with ties to Israel as the war in Gaza continues.

And in this new season of protest, they have tacked on additional demands, calling on Occidental to bolster protections for international students amid the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to revoke the visas of students whose activities it deems counter to national interests, in some cases targeting students who have protested Israel’s war on Gaza.

The hunger strikers say they were inspired by students at Chapman University in Orange, who launched a similar campaign in April. That strike ended after 10 days with no concessions from their university. It appears to mark a new phase in protest tactics for students concerned about the plight of Palestinians now that many California campuses have banned or restricted the overnight encampments that burgeoned last school year, in some cases fueling violent confrontations and allegations of antisemitism.

Occidental’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter occupied an encampment for nine days last year, calling on the college to divest from investments in manufacturing companies that have provided arms and equipment to the Israeli military. In May, Occidental’s Board of Trustees agreed to consider divestment and the encampment came down, but the board subsequently voted against divestment.

As of August, the total valuation of indirect investments in the companies that the students want targeted was about $940,000, or about one-tenth of the college’s total endowment assets, according to college spokesperson Rachael Warecki.

In a list of demands sent to Occidental President Tom Stritikus this week, the hunger strikers re-upped their call for the college to remove direct and indirect investments in weapons-making companies with ties to Israel. They also asked that the campus bolster protections for international students by providing pro bono legal support for students facing visa revocations and expunging student records of protest-related conduct charges. International students make up about 7% of the student body at Occidental.

“I’ve talked with the students engaging in this protest, and others across campus, about these concerns many times over the last several months,” Stritikus said in a message to the campus Friday. “In this case, many of the initiatives that students are advocating for are already in place, based on the work we’ve been doing this semester for the benefit of our international students and academic community. While we may not agree on all of the tactics to get there, I fundamentally believe that we do align on the future we want to build.”

On April 9, Stritikus issued a statement announcing the college had signed onto an amicus brief registering concerns about the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke the legal status of hundreds of international students, often with minimal explanation. He said if students at Occidental were to lose their legal status, the college would make “all reasonable efforts” to help them retain eligibility for financial aid and housing.

He also said the campus would “continue to provide community and individual resources, training, and programming, such as our previous Know Your Rights sessions, community town halls, and timely guidance related to potential immigration enforcement actions.”

But the students involved in the hunger strike say the college isn’t doing enough. Friday represented Day 5 of their strike.

In daily video updates, they offer emotional condemnations of the Palestinian deaths attributed to Israel’s continued airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, and a seven-week-old blockade that has depleted food stocks in the region. Israel cut off entry of humanitarian deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza in early March, saying it wanted to increase the pressure on Hamas to release the remaining Israeli civilians that the group took hostage during its deadly October 2023 attacks.

Student Evan Zeltzer, left, has his vitals checked by Ixchel Hernandez on Day 5 of a hunger strike at Occidental College.

(Hon Wing Chiu / For The Times)

The strikers said they are consuming only water with zero-calorie electrolyte powder.

Jackie Hu, 20, a junior, said that by the third day, it was becoming harder to sleep and she was experiencing headaches, lightheadedness and numbness. On top of that, Hu, a biochemistry major, is studying for final exams next week.

“While that’s difficult as a student, there is an ongoing genocide in Palestine, and there are no universities left in Gaza,” she said.

Each day, the strikers set up an area near the campus dining hall, with a cardboard sign marking each day of the strike. By Thursday, some students were passing out, said Tobias Lodish, an organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine.

That same day, Stritikus stopped by to speak briefly with students, according to videos shared with The Times.

“I totally appreciate your passion around this, and I understand it, and I share it — that’s why we’ve done what we’ve done,” he told the students. “I think you all have a different view of things that you want me to do. I’ve articulated why we won’t do this, why we won’t do that. And your hunger strike is different and unrelated from those demands.”

“You are in control of feeding yourselves, and I want you to,” he urged.

Evan Zeltzer, an 18-year-old freshman taking part in the strike, said the students were cold and tired, but would persevere.

“The state of the world is just so dire,” said Zeltzer, a critical theory and social justice major. “And I think we just feel no other way to have our voices feel heard.”