MIT Professor Ends Hunger Strike

The MIT professor who had begun a hunger strike after the university denied him tenure officially ended that strike last Friday, saying his protest had garnered sufficient attention.

Associate Professor James L. Sherley ’80 began his strike Feb. 5, alleging the university’s decision was influenced by racism. Sherley had vowed not to eat until MIT offered him tenure and fired Provost L. Rafael Reif.

But Sherley, who is African-American, informed the administration last week that he would end his hunger strike, despite neither of his demands having been met.

“Starting today, I will in fact break my fast, in celebration of the attention that has been brought to bear on issues of equity, diversity, and justice at MIT and in higher education,” Sherley wrote in a statement to the administration.

In its own statement, MIT said it “deeply regrets that Professor Sherley’s experiences at the Institute have resulted in his fast to express his concerns about racism.”

The statement added that the university “will continue to work toward resolution of [its] differences with Professor Sherley.”

A review by the university concluded that racial discrimination did not play a role in the decision to deny Sherley tenure, according to the Boston Globe.

The Globe also reported that 10 MIT faculty members, including linguistics professor Noam Chomsky, had composed a letter stating their desire to see the administration inquire further into Sherley’s case.

MIT junior Michael McGraw-Herdeg said earlier this week that there had not been too much student reaction to Sherley’s protest.

“I haven’t seen a lot of reaction on campus yet [which] is the interesting thing,” said McGraw-Herdeg, who is the president of MIT’s student newspaper, The Tech.

“Most of the reaction we’re hearing is from teachers or workers. Little reaction is coming from students themselves.”

Despite the end of his hunger strike, Sherley wrote that his “demands are still on the table.”

“I urge the administration to act in good faith, to openly acknowledge and respond to the lines of communication and negotiation that have been in place for two weeks and to find its way to meet these demands,” wrote Sherley.

At Harvard, African-American Department Chair Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham said that she was glad Sherley had ended his strike.

“I recognize this is a very complicated story, but I do know that that kind of hunger strike is in the tradition of American protest, so he has hopefully found some kind of resolution since he is no longer striking.”

Sherley could not be reached for comment.