UCI Protesters Vow to Strike Beyond Deadline

Five student hunger strikers at UC Irvine will face possible removal from their tent encampment at midnight tonight--a day later than they originally thought because of confusion over an agreement between the university and the students.

The hunger strikers, on a liquid-only fast, signed an agreement with UC Irvine officials to vacate their encampment directly across from the administration building at midnight Oct. 27. Some hunger strikers misinterpreted the time as meaning Thursday night.

The Latino hunger strikers, who are demanding the UC Board of Regents restore and expand affirmative action programs, vowed at a news conference Thursday to continue the fast.

Meanwhile, UC Irvine Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening called upon the hunger strikers to honor the agreement.

“Honoring your commitments and keeping your word are fundamental principles of our shared values here at UCI,” Wilkening said in a statement Thursday. “I fully support our students’ right to express their views, and strongly encourage these protesters to rejoin the rest of the campus community.”

University officials have refused to comment on whether they will enforce the deadline.

The hunger strikers are expected to receive a morale boost at a noontime rally today, where leaders from the Mexican-American Political Assn. and League of United Latin American Citizens will speak. Also, students from neighboring UC campuses were scheduled to begin arriving late Thursday night.

Four UC Irvine students and another from the Claremont Colleges began the hunger strike to protest the regents’ decision in July to abolish affirmative action programs in the 162,000-student system. The students pledge to maintain the fast until their demands about affirmative action are met and student fees are substantially reduced.