The drama unfolding at Princeton University is a telling tale of our times, where attention-seeking college students attending an elite university have taken their theatrics to new levels. These self-proclaimed activists, camping out in tents, are now on a so-called hunger strike, purportedly in support of the Palestinian people. But the real spectacle isn’t their protest; it’s their complaints that the university isn’t babying them through their self-imposed ordeal.
Yes, you heard that right. After making a conscious decision to starve themselves to leverage the university into meeting their demands, they are now upset that the university isn’t monitoring their health closely. “They are not keeping track of our vitals. They are not at all taking care of us,” they lament. One has to wonder, why should the university be responsible for babysitting adults who choose to endanger their health for a stunt?
The irony is palpable. These protestors have chosen to go on a hunger strike, a serious and dangerous form of protest, and now cry foul that the university isn’t taking care of them. It seems they want to have their cake and eat it too—except, of course, they’re on a hunger strike, so no cake for them. This scenario boils down to a group of privileged students, likely never having faced real hardship, using this “strike” as a means to draw attention to themselves under the guise of a political cause.
In a video, one protester claimed she was “literally shaking” from starvation, while her group, all supposedly “immunocompromised,” accused the university officials of “physically weakening” the group on purpose. This accusation is not only ludicrous but insulting to those who face genuine, involuntary suffering around the world. It’s a classic example of the narcissism that has infected parts of this generation, who engage in activism more for social media clout and self-gratification than for any real change.
Their demands for the university to babysit them during their self-inflicted hunger strike highlight a deeper issue: a complete lack of personal responsibility and a sense of entitlement that has become all too common. These students voluntarily chose to starve themselves; no one forced their hand. Yet, they expect the institution to hold their hands through the consequences of their own actions.
This whole debacle is a stark illustration of how far some will go to push their own agenda, expecting everyone else to accommodate their every whim without taking any personal responsibility. It’s high time these students learn that their actions have consequences, and no amount of foot-stomping or tantrum-throwing should obligate anyone, let alone an academic institution, to clean up their mess.
