Strike proves fruitless for hungry protesters
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Purdue president Martin Jischke declined to sign a proposal that would end a 27-day hunger strike by a group of students.
The Purdue Organization for Labor Equality wants Jischke to adopt a plan that the group says will help prevent University apparel from being made in sweatshops.
Alex Hanna, a hunger striker and senior in the College of Science, said the students plan on continuing the hunger strike until they see results in their favor, although he did not say exactly what those results would be.
But so far, the group's efforts to pressure the University to sign this proposal have not succeeded. Although Jischke will not adopt the plan, a news release said the University "will continue to look for ways to improve compliance with its code of conduct for licensees that manufacture University-licensed products."
The release said Jischke listened to recommendations from the University's licensing committee and decided the proposal was not in the best interest of Purdue.
"In my opinion, the consequences of adopting the program are not understood at this point, and I cannot, in good conscience, make a University decision when so much doubt exists," Jischke said.
Although the group expressed its desire to proceed with the fast, as of Tuesday, it is unknown how many hunger strikers will actually refrain from eating. Out of an original group of 12 to 15 students, about 10 are still fasting.
John Slavin, a graduate student, said he will continue protesting until the proposal is signed, but he is unsure about his future dedication to the hunger strike.
"I'm not going to stop until (Jischke) signs the damn thing," said Slavin, "but there might be more effective realms (of protest) worth considering."
He has gone without food for 27 days as of today and has lost about 24 pounds since the start of the strike.
But with Winter Break quickly approaching, Slavin doesn't plan on continuing the strike when he goes home on Dec. 22.
"I just don't think I'm going to be able to do that," he said.