Boston university professor begins hunger strike for Turkish student Ozturk

A Boston University professor has begun a hunger strike to protest the detention of a Turkish university student and what he describes as an assault on free speech both on campus and across the nation.

Nathan Phillips, a professor at Boston University, started his hunger strike on Tuesday, April 15, after university administrators repeatedly removed a banner reading “Free Rumeysa” from his fourth-floor office window.

Phillips had warned the administration by posting a note inside his office stating he would begin a hunger strike if the banner was removed again. When he arrived at his office on Tuesday to find the banner gone, he made good on his promise.

“I never thought I would live in a country where someone using their freedom of expression by writing for a school newspaper could be unconstitutionally abducted and disappeared like this,” Phillips told Anadolu Agency in an interview from his office at Boston University’s main campus.

While continuing to teach and work, Phillips is consuming only liquids and electrolytes, including unsweetened coffee and herbal teas, but no solid food.

University officials informed Phillips during a meeting with the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences that removing “political banners” from campus building windows was university policy.

Boston professor draws attention to violated constitutional rights

Phillips said he was horrified by the detention of Rumeysa Ozturk, comparing it to an abduction, a sentiment shared by many across Boston and the country.

“At this point, the attack on Rumeysa’s freedom of thought and expression became an attack on my rights as well,” Phillips said, explaining that Ozturk’s detention violated both the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and thought, and the Fifth Amendment, which ensures the right to due process.

His hunger strike is a protest against restrictions on his own campus, but more broadly against efforts to suppress freedom of thought at universities and throughout the country.

Weaponization of antisemitism

Phillips acknowledged that real antisemitism and anti-Jewish sentiment exist but argued that the term is being weaponized beyond its true meaning to undermine pro-Palestinian perspectives and criticism of Israel.

“This is freedom of thought and expression,” Phillips said, recalling how Americans were once able to oppose the Iraq War. “Therefore, criticizing Israel and especially Netanyahu for pursuing a policy of indiscriminate war and mass killing against Palestinians and Gazans is not antisemitism.”

Boston professor heartbroken over international students’ treatment

Phillips expressed heartbreak over the cancellation of international students’ visas without justification, noting that many students at his own university have had their visas revoked, although the exact number hasn’t been disclosed.

He also lamented the atmosphere of fear and anxiety that has settled over universities nationwide.

Phillips keeps portraits of Ozturk and Columbia University student Mahmud Khalil posted on his office door. He has also saved the “Free Rumeysa” banner, longing for the day when he can freely display it in his window again.

He intends to continue his hunger strike as long as his health permits, until Rumeysa Ozturk, Mahmud Khalil, and Mohsen Mahdawi are released.

This is not Phillips’ first hunger strike. He has previously conducted two separate hunger strike protests against environmental issues near Boston, lasting 14 and seven days, respectively.