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‘From the river to the sea, please send us KFC’: No sympathy for hungry protesters begging for food and water

May 1, 2024 | | Print Article

A video of a student at Columbia University went viral for all the wrong reasons as she told reporters Tuesday about the food needs of pro-Palestine protesters.

Though she identified herself as a student at Columbia, she did not give her name because of threats she received, But according to National Review, the graduate student is Johannah King-Slutzky, an instructor and Ph.D. candidate.

She told reporters at a press conference that student agitators could get sick or die if they did not have food and water delivered as they occupied the campus building Hamilton Hall.

“I guess it’s ultimately a question of what kind of community and obligation Columbia feels it has to its students,” King-Slutzky said. “Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation or get severely ill, even if they disagree with you?”

“If the answer is no then you should allow basic — I mean, it’s crazy to say since we’re on an Ivy League campus — but this is like, basic humanitarian aid we’re asking for, like could people please have a glass of water?” she added, unleashing a tidal wave of mockery on social media after one exchange with a reporter.

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The demands were pointless anyway as NYPD officers descended on the scene a few hours after her remarks.

“But they didn’t put themselves in that very deliberately in that situation and in that position. So it seems like you’re sort of saying, ‘We want to be revolutionaries. We want to take over this building. Now, would you please bring us food and water?’” a reporter pressed.

“Nobody’s asking them to bring anything, every — we’re, we’re asking them to not violently stop us from bringing in basic humanitarian aid,” the spokesperson replied.

“They’re stopping the delivery of food?” the reporter tried to clarify.

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“I — we are looking for a commitment from them that they will not stop it,” King-Slutzky said.

Her claims were labeled “misleading” by Community Notes on X.

“Per Columbia, campus dining is open (John Jay Dining Hall, Fac Shack, JJ’s Place),” the notes read. “Humanitarian aid is for saving lives in the most dire situations (violent conflict, natural disasters). The students can leave if they want.”

“The revolution will be catered,” snarked The Atlantic’s David Frum on X.

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“Every good revolutionary knows you have to pack snacks,” wrote liberal commentator Joanne Carducci on X. “That this ends with ‘but the Grubhub’ might be the greatest commentary on the times we live in.”

“These are not the remarks, let alone the arguments, of a serious person,” Yale professor Nicholas Christakis wrote on X. “This is the way someone who has never been challenged to defend her views with facts and reason speaks. This is someone who thinks she is winning the battle of ideas simply by articulating her desires. Someone her university has not taught.”

“Apparently, Happy Meals will not be served during the Revolution,” quipped former RNC chair Michael Steele.

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Frieda Powers
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