Members of the Living Wage campaign Friday rallied on the steps of the Rotunda to mark the seventh day of their hunger strike, which they hope will encourage the University to introduce a $13 minimum wage for its employees and employees of private contract companies, such as the University's catering company Aramark.
University President Teresa Sullivan agreed to meet with representatives of the Living Wage campaign 7 a.m. today just as the number of students fasting reaches 19, with three strikers joining Friday. Three of the original 12 strikers have resumed eating for medical reasons.
Hallie Clark, third-year College student and striker, admitted to feeling weakened by hunger, but said she was resolute in her decision to continue striking.
"Ain't no power like the power of the people, because the power of the people don't stop," she said with the crowd rising up to meet her chant with their own.
Second-year College student Carl-David Goette-Luciak led supporters from the Rotunda steps into the Rotunda lobby, where members of the Board of the Visitors were meeting above, bringing 16 copies of the Living Wage campaign's research, Keeping Our Promises, to the Board.
Goette-Luciak said to the crowd they would not risk arrest by occupying the Rotunda and that the protestors planned simply to bring the campaign's research to the Board.
"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired," Goette-Luciak said. "And of course, I'm hungry. But this isn't about me. Because I think we're all hungry. Hungry for a better community, for a caring community, where everyone of us knows that our work is valued and where we can all live with dignity and respect. We are all hurt by U.Va.'s failure to stand for this dream."
Patricia Lampkin, vice president and chief student affairs officer, met the group at the foot of the Rotunda lobby stairs, ultimately leading Hunter Link, Living Wage member and striker, to the Board. Link returned about 10 minutes later claiming the Board had refused to meet with him directly.
Lampkin gave the group her own letter, which asked members of the campaign to stop fasting before meeting with administration today.
Lampkin urged strikers to begin to resume eating under medical supervision to allow for a more "reasonable and clear-headed discussion" this morning. She also reminded students of the medical resources available to them through the University.
"I cannot condone any decision that puts you at risk," she stated in the letter. "Please do not confuse this with our support of your right to express yourself."
Lampkin said in the letter Psychiatry Prof. Maurice Apprey, a dean in the Office of African-American Affairs and a "trained facilitator," would help mediate the discussion between University administration and campaign members.
Emily Filler, Arts & Sciences Graduate student and Living Wage campaign member, said while the strike may be a drastic measure, the campaign did not decide to hunger strike without considering its implications or fully researching a living wage.
"Most of the other thing that people usually do when they're looking to aid a cause have been done by this campaign over and over again," Filler said. "We took this action because we tried absolutely everything else."
But Filler said the University's response to the hunger strike focuses disproportionately on the hunger strikers rather than the intentions behind their decision to strike.
"It seems really notable to me that while [Lampkin] expressed concern for our health she doesn't express any concern for employees at all," Filler said.
Living Wage supporters at the rally heard directly from University employees about their experiences working for the University.
Mike Henrietta, a University employee in the Landscaping department, spoke at the rally Friday. Henrietta started working at the University ten years ago and has been working two jobs since then.
"It's a good thing that the University has such a good benefits package, because you need a good benefits package when you have a second job," he said.
Henrietta said he is not the only University employee to work two jobs simultaneously with no possibility of a raise or promotion.
"The vast majority of our department has to have a second job or they have to have a side job to survive," he said.
Nancy Carpenter, an administrator in the University's health services department, said she wanted to speak at the rally to bring to light issues raised by employees "who did not feel comfortable speaking for themselves."
About 22 percent of people living in Charlottesville live in poverty, Carpenter said, a number she said would be reduced by the introduction of a living wage.
"It's about having a more equitable share of my labour instead of a subsistence share," Carpenter said.
Carpenter finished her speech by reminding Sullivan of her academic interest in labor.
"Dr. Teresa Sullivan lists on her curriculum vitae a scholarly interest in the labor force," she said. "Well, here is your labor force."
Physician Greg Gelburd, who is monitoring the health of the strikers, pressed Sullivan on her commitment to support University students.
"Skip a few meals this weekend and feel what they're feeling," Gelburd asked of Sullivan.
Gelburd also spoke as a parent of a University student and said he would be prepared to put the interests of the campaign above any tuition hikes, which may occur as a result of the implementation of a living wage.
"I would be happy to receive a letter from her saying that as a university we feel we need to pay a living wage," Gelburd said. "I would be happy to pay it knowing that it's going to those conditions."
Filler, however, said a living wage would not necessarily require increases in tuition, as the campaign says implementing a living wage would only take a fraction of one percent of the University's endowment.
"They have the money," Filler said. They also have an extremely efficient fundraising campaign"
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