Pouty graduate students at Yale – who get a $30k-per-year stipend, full health benefits and receiving $40,000 a year in free tuition, by the way – have decided they’re unhappy with their school’s union benefits.
In response to this clear crisis, eight students with the school’s Local 33 union have begun holding a "hunger strike" in front of Yale President Peter Salovey’s house until the school meets their demands. And, according to the Yale Daily News, follow students and school admininstrators expressed concern that the demonstrators were taking things a bit too far and could wind up hurting themselves.
Nicholas Vincent GRD ’17, the chairman of the Graduate Student Assembly, said he was surprised that Local 33 had resorted to a hunger strike and expressed hope that the eight students participating would receive proper medical supervision.
“A hunger strike is a thing that comes to mind for prisoners who are being mistreated,” Vincent said. “I think it’s not outlandish to say that they’re putting themselves in considerable harm for this.”
That probably would have been a legit concern -- except that this particular hunger strike doesn’t actually involve not eating. No joke.
In a pamphlet explaining the temper tantrum protest, Yale students said the strike is only “symbolic,” and that students can actually leave and go get food when they’re hungry. Here's a photo of the pamphlet posted on Twitter by a former Yale student:
Update: the Yale grad student union is holding a *symbolic* hunger strike (they eat when hungry) Still inspirational https://t.co/vWIHUjiHrF pic.twitter.com/oGdSbn752h
— Dimitri Halikias (@DHalikias) April 26, 2017
Bold move, Yale. Bold move.