Cambridge Student Union’s post-graduate President was stretchered into an ambulance by paramedics 24 days after he started a hunger strike to protest university ‘corruption’.
Vareesh Pratap was seen semi-conscious surrounded by four paramedics as he lay barely responsive in a deck chair in front of a ‘Stop Killing Democracy’ poster just outside of Senate House.
Paramedics took his temperature and blood pressure before carrying him into an ambulance and rushing him to hospital, according to a student witness on the scene.
It comes 24 days after Pratap began dry fasting to protest alleged ‘corruption’ and ‘nepotism’ within the University of Cambridge Student Union.
In a scathing letter titled ‘Stop Killing Democracy’ and published online on May 14, Pratap claimed that the Student Union had become a ‘quasi-family business’ characterised by nepotism.
Addressed to the University of Cambridge Vice Chancellor Deborah Prentice the letter lists five demands including to ‘declare the recently held Student Trustees’ election null and void.’
His demands also include annulling appointments of staff who have been hired to jobs without proper , hold by-elections to replace the sabbatical officer roles which have been recently vacated, and to increase transparency of SU finances.
In the letter Pratap also accused the University and Student Union of racist bullying claiming that there had been ‘incidents of targeted harassment against sabbatical officers – especially those of colour’.
Pratap’s hunger strike came just a week after the resignation of Harvey Brown the SU’s Welfare and Community Officer, who quit over the University’s stance on the Israel/ Gaza war.
In a statement Brown said he could not work for an organisation that does not ‘express public opposition to Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.’
Brown was the fourth sabbatical officer to resign this year.
In his open letter – which currently has 279 signatures – Pratap claims that there are other officers who are also seriously thinking about leaving their jobs too.
Speaking to exclusively last month Pratap described the hunger strike as a ‘test of my own patience’ and claimed he was determined to continue until all his ‘demands are met’.
On June 1 Cambridge SU called a Student Members Meeting scheduled for June 10 to discuss Pratap’s demands after his petition received the necessary 200 signature threshold required to trigger a meeting.
An email sent round to all students acknowledged that the SU was aware of ‘issues and concerns regarding the SU’s effectiveness (…) as well as concerns regarding students’ overall welfare.’
Cambridge SU had recently launched a democracy review form on its website after the annual Student Members Meeting was postponed due to a low turnout.
This row comes amidst a new wave of hunger strikes across British and American University campuses, to protest Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
An unknown number of students at the University of Edinburgh have claimed that they are on hunger strike.
Meanwhile in America, more than a dozen Princeton University students began hunger strikes in May to express solidarity with Palestinains in Gaza.
The Cambridge Student Union and the University of Cambridge have been contacted for comment.