Six Dartmouth protesters staged a hunger strike. One remains after 14 days.
| Published: 06-18-2025 10:00 AM |
Five Dartmouth students broke their hunger strike on Friday after 10 days, having hoped to force the college to reconsider a proposal to divest from six arms companies they say are directly supporting Israel’s war in Gaza.
But one former student, Roan Wade, was still continuing the strike as of Monday afternoon with the protesters’ demands still unmet.
The college suspended Wade and another student, banning them both from the campus, after they were suspected of participating in a sit-in where two staff members were allegedly hurt. Student accounts of the event say the sit-in was largely peaceful, and that a student was knocked to the ground by a campus security officer.
On day 14 of the strike, Wade says they’re still committed to supporting Gaza.
“While we’ve been present in the library every day, showing that we’re hunger striking, and six of us have been on hunger strike, [Dartmouth has] ignored us entirely,” Wade told NHPR. “They’ve ignored all of our demands, and they’ve told us that they’re not negotiating, which I think is a very concerning step for the college to take and its reaction in response to the student movement.”
The college’s board of trustees last month voted against advancing the divestment proposal.
Wade and the other student, both graduating seniors, were not allowed to participate in Dartmouth’s commencement ceremony held over the weekend, according to Wade. Wade was one of two students arrested in 2023 after setting up tents outside school administrative offices.
The first time the students decided to hunger strike, Wade said the college held negotiations and seemed to care about the student movement.
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Yet, after three encampments and holding numerous protests, the college has not been dissuaded on its stance on the divestment proposal. But Wade said the college’s response will not deter them or other students from participating in forms of civil disobedience.
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