'Nobody wins': Harvard-Yale college football game delayed as students storm the field to protest climate change (VIDEO)
by RT
‘Nobody wins’: Harvard-Yale college football game delayed as students storm the field to protest climate change (VIDEO)
A college football game between rivals schools Harvard and Yale was delayed on Saturday as more than a hundred students and alumni staged a mid-game protest on the field to protest against endowments from fossil fuel companies.
Harvard was winning the game by a score of 15-3 when the protest began when students ran on to the field just prior to the beginning of the second half forcing a delay of more than 30 minutes as police cleared the protestors from the field of play.
It is the latest in a series of protests from students and faculty over the course of the past few years.
“Nobody wins. Yale & Harvard are complicit in climate injustice,” a banner carried on to the field read, describing opposition to both schools’ association with fossil fuel holdings.
“Harvard and Yale claim their goal is to create student leaders who can strive toward a more ‘just, fair, and promising world’ by ‘improving the world today and for future generations.’ Yet by continuing to invest in industries that mislead the public, smear academics, and deny reality, Harvard and Yale are complicit in tearing down that future,” a joint statement from Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard, Fossil Free Yale and Yale Endowment Justice Coalition read.
The Harvard-Yale football game has been delayed due to students protesting climate change in the middle of the field. pic.twitter.com/uY9Kc3Mn32
“We demand that our universities take responsibility for their role in perpetuating the climate crisis and global climate injustice — we call on Harvard and Yale to fully disclose, divest, and reinvest their holdings in the fossil fuel industry, putting an end to business as usual and taking meaningful action towards building a more just and stable future.”
In response to the protest, Karen Peart, media relations director for Yale University, said that the school fully supports students’ right to freedom of expression but cautioned the protestors by saying that Yale doesn’t “allow disruption of university events.”
Larry Bacow, president of Harvard, said in September that they are currently investigating climate change solution policies and called for a “healthy” discussion over the school’s investment policy.
“While I, like my predecessors, believe that engaging with industry to confront the challenge of climate change is ultimately a sounder and more effective approach for our university, I respect the views of those who think otherwise. We may differ on means,” he said.
“But I believe we seek the same ends — a decarbonized future in which life on Earth can flourish for ages to come.”
