BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- UC Berkeley lecturer Peyrin Kao has started a 'starvation diet' consuming only 250 calories a day to show solidarity with Palestinians amidst the Israel-Palestine conflict, reflecting the alleged average caloric intake available to them in Gaza.
- Kao's actions are part of a broader protest; he demands the university acknowledge Israel's 'illegal occupation' and end partnerships with the military industrial complex, along with establishing ethical standards in collaborations.
- Kao previously faced backlash for using class time to express his political views, yet he argues that addressing such issues is part of his responsibility as an educator for marginalized groups.
A University of California Berkeley lecturer recently began a “starvation diet” to demonstrate his “solidarity” with the Palestinians against Israel in their ongoing war.
The Daily Californian reports Peyrin Kao, who teaches courses in electrical engineering and computer science, will only ingest 250 calories a day, which allegedly is the “average amount of nourishment available to Palestinians in Gaza,” according to the organization Oxfam.
Kao’s semester course page currently reads “Apologies in advance if I’m in poor health during lectures. I’m currently undergoing a starvation diet in support of …” followed by a link to the Berkeley EECS [Electrical Engineering Computer Science] 4 Palestine Instagram page.
So far, Kao’s meals have consisted of “plain pasta.” As of Thursday, he said he was feeling “fatigued,” but noted “his experience so far is ‘nothing’ in comparison to the conditions Palestinians in Gaza are facing.”
Kao added “I don’t have to worry about being displaced at a moment’s notice; I don’t have to watch my family and community starve.”
According to a statement on the Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine Instagram, Kao will maintain his minimal caloric intake until the university agrees to
- “acknowledge Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza,”
- acknowledge UC Berkeley’s role “in the development of war technologies that have expanded Zionist cloud services, AI-powered surveillance,” and more,
- pledge to dismantle “relationships” with the “military industrial complex,” and
- “institutionalize ethical standards and practices for collaborations and funding to align with the international community’s framing of international humanitarian law.”
Kao recently posted a video featuring “his friend and colleague” Dave from the lecturers union who joined him in his “hunger strike” for a whopping 24 hours.
Dave requested “ethics to be introduced in EECS instruction, and […] more engagement among union members and other university employees on moral issues tied to their labor.”
Two years ago, Kao got into hot water with the university after ending a course with a 20-minute “statement of solidarity with Palestine.”
Although Kao claimed he had ended class and did not mandate anyone remain to hear his statement, EECS Department Chair Claire Tomlin informed Kao that “using class time to make a political speech is ‘inherently coercive’ even if students were invited to leave.”
Kao told the student paper that “Many students from historically marginalized groups are enduring the genocide of the Palestinian people, so to uphold my responsibilities as an instructor, I cannot remain silent when my support and solidarity can make a difference.”
