A group of 17 students will go on a hunger strike with demands: that USF stop investing in companies that financially aid Israel and that President Rhea Law “calls” for a ceasefire in Palestine. 

Hunger strikers will not eat any solid foods – just water and electrolytes – starting March 18.

USF administration sent a cease and desist letter – or a notice of potential legal or disciplinary action – to students participating. The 17 students will still participate in the strike, now not affiliated to any student organizations and under an independent name: The Hunger Strike coalition. 

The students violated Student Code of Conduct policies that prohibits “hazing,” promoting or encouraging others to “violate standards of behavior,” and being “non-compliant” to the university’s health guidelines, according to the letter. 

USF spokesperson Althea Johnson wrote in an email that the university was concerned for the “well-being of the participants” of the hunger strike. Administrators had a meeting with a representative of the Student Health Services regarding the risks of starving. 

“Following the meeting, the USF Dean of Students Office sent the…letter to the student organization,” Johnson wrote.

Alina Atiq, vice-president of SFS and one of the hunger strikers, said the movement is no longer affiliated to any student organizations and “promotions” were removed from SFS’s instagram page. 

The on-going conflict between Palestine and Israel has sparked several demonstrations at USF.

Between Students for Socialism (SFS), Student for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and other organizations,  “die-outs”, Starbucks sit-ins and rallies took place at the Tampa campus. All demonstrations had students taking a stance against the on-going “genocide in Palestine.”

However, the Hamas Oct. 7  attack on Israel did not prompt students to organize on campus – the movement started earlier. 

In 2017, SJP presented a petition with around 10,000 signatures to USF’s Student Government. It demanded divestment from fossil fuel companies that profit on “human rights violations in Palestine and Yemen.” 

Related: Potential referendum urges Foundation to divest

USF did not divest from companies cited in the petition.

This time, the coalition is demanding USF to stop investing in Hewlett Packard (HP), Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Caterpillar – all companies that the coalition says directly send financial and material aid to Israel. 

The strike is the “necessary escalation” in their demonstrations efforts, Atiq said. 

“There have been multiple efforts for divestment, but USF didn’t listen,”  she said. “So we are putting our lives on the line at this point.”

She said members of the coalition have done a lot of research on the health risks of hunger striking. All the participants have been made aware of the dangers, Atiq said. 

Atiq said some students are lowering their calorie intake a week prior to the strike, during spring break, to prepare. 

During a demonstration announcing the strike on Monday, Will Mleckzo, president of SFS, said that although administration have reached out for a meeting, students “have not heard back in a week and a half.” 

Atiq was the first speaker among other students that have pledged to strike. She lowered her keffiyeh – traditional Palestinian scarf – to shout as her voice cracked. A small crowd of students who passed to go to the library slowed their pace when walking by the front lawn, taking pictures of signs. 

“I condemn you [USF] for neglecting your students’ needs to the point where we have to starve ourselves to have our voices heard,” she said. 

Dean of Students Danielle McDonald and Matt Marshall, Marshall Student Center (MSC) director, were seen following the group of protestors from the Library lawn to the MSC. 

Around 30 students chanted “Rhea Law pick a side, justice or genocide.” 

Freshman Ria Sanchez has pledged to hunger strike even with existing health conditions. She said her problems don’t compare to what Palestinians are enduring and she’s doing the “bare minimum.”

“People in Gaza also have health issues,” she said. “People there have cancer, they have hemophilia and they are being forced to starve. So no, I don’t care about my own personal health conditions.” 

Atiq said the strike will last “indefinitely.”