Twenty-six Georgetown University students spent nine days on a hunger strike that ended last week. The strike was conducted in support of a living wage for university employees. Last Wednesday, the university administration relented and agreed to all the strikers' demands.
The hunger strike was an admirable effort on the part of the protesters. However, it is sad that it had to come to that. At Harvard in 2001, a similar student coalition got administration to agree on a living wage for university employees without having to take any drastic measures. Ideally, discourse would solve issues like these. But when the Georgetown students presented their viewpoint to administration, the administration chose to not even vote on the issue.
The hunger strike was a basic but effective protest tool. It was reminiscent of the past eras of protesting at college campuses. The students involved deserve recognition for the magnitude of their effort.
Protesters held a makeshift rally Wednesday night across our campus against the possibility of putting a Starbucks on campus. While it remains to be seen if their efforts will be successful, they should remember the Georgetown protesters and keep in mind that just putting on a spectacle isn't enough. For a protest to be successful, there needs to be substance and heart behind it. The force must be stronger than basic surface activism.
