Hunger Strike at University of Vermont

In the 1960's students picked up placards and marched the same way they picked up their laundry from the dry cleaner. Protesting was something college kids did, almost like a right of passage. They protested the war, they protested school rules, they protested infringements on their right to protest. In the new millennium protesting may be seeing a rebirth, at least at the customarily quiet campus of the University of Vermont. There a small, but ardent, group of reform minded students have taken on the policies of the school administration and are committed to active protest until the school agrees to reconsider its policies.

The Issue. One unique aspect of this protest movement is that students have put their daily lives on hold to push someone else's agenda. They are not out protesting to gain better food in the school cafeteria, to reduce class sizes or to improve on campus recreation facilities.

The efforts of these young idealists are dedicated to the improvement of the lives of those who are workers on campus at the the University of Vermont at a wage that is considered to be below the livable wage standard. In the State of Vermont, statisticians indicate that a livable wage is slightly more than $13 per hour. Far too many university employees are receiving wages well below that standard. Students are calling upon the administration to revisit the school budget and find the one to two million additional dollars which could bridge the present gap and provide a livable wage to all university employees. As students whose families are paying a considerable fee for the privilege of attending the University of Vermont, these students would seem to have a vested interest in the way employees are paid at their university.