Humanitarian aid for Columbia students

The revolution will not be televised, but it might be catered — or so hoped the protesters occupying a building at Columbia on Tuesday.

“Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation or get severely ill even if they disagree with you?” the protester told a gaggle outside Hamilton hall. “If the answer is no, then you should allow basic — I mean, it’s crazy to say because we’re on an Ivy League campus, but this is like basic humanitarian aid we’re asking for. Like, could people please have a glass of water?”

The comments suggest protesters were unwilling to drink tap water, one keen observer noticed.

Their plight evokes memories of the students who occupied a Vanderbilt building in March, who claimed, “we were deprived of medical attention, we were deprived of sleep, we were deprived of food, water, resources,” and told a small press conference that “From Palestine to Nashville, our oppressors are the same.” The people of Gaza can surely sympathise.