Courtney E. Martin: Columbia University Students Go On Hunger Strike

Published: November 9, 2007, 1:01 am

Just as scarf and hat weather hit Wednesday in New York, five Columbia University students gathered on the main campus lawn, pitched three tents, and declared themselves on hunger strike. Cross-legged, among a sea of Gatorade bottles, sleeping bags, and towels, Columbia College senior Emilie Rosenblatt says, "We're prepared to be here through Thanksgiving if that's what it takes to make a change." The protestor's (Bryan Mercer, Sam Barron, Aretha Choi, Victoria Ruiz, and Rosenblatt) demands center around issues of racial justice, education, and gentrification. In short, they would like the administration to: (1) give more institutional support to multicultural affairs on campus, (2) strengthen, fund, and involve student leadership in the Ethnic Studies program, (3) withdraw and reconsider its plan to expand into Harlem, and (4) reform the core curriculum to include a course on "racialization and colonialism." A group of at least 100 students has been meeting and discussing

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