Harvard and Yale students disrupt football game for fossil fuel protest

The Harvard-Yale football game was delayed Saturday afternoon when student protestors from both universities staged a sit-in in the middle of Yale’s field.

The protest, which happened during halftime, was over fossil fuel divestment, something that students from both schools have been asking their respective administrations to do for several years. 

Yale and Harvard students have disrupted today’s football game. They are demanding their universities divest from fossil fuels & cancel their Puerto Rican debt holdings pic.twitter.com/DwJRyyzeq5

— Eric Blanc (@_ericblanc) November 23, 2019

Harvard and Yale rank first and second in terms of U.S. college endowments. At the end of fiscal 2018, Harvard’s was $39 billion, while Yale’s was $29 billion.

Both endowments have investments in fossil fuel industries such as oil, coal and gas.

Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on the protest via Twitter.

“Activism disrupts the present to change the future,” she tweeted.

Protestors were eventually removed from the field by police.

Yale in a statement Saturday said it supports freedom of speech, but does not allow the disruption of university events.

“Yale stands firmly for the right to free expression. Today, students from Harvard and Yale expressed their views and delayed the start of the second half of the football game,” the statement reads.

“We stand with the Ivy League in its statement: ‘It is regrettable that the orchestrated protest came during a time when fellow students were participating in a collegiate career-defining contest and an annual tradition when thousands gather from around the world to enjoy and celebrate the storied traditions of both football programs and universities.’

“We are grateful to the staff members and police officers who ensured the peaceful departure of students from the field,” Yale’s statement continues. “The exercise of free expression on campus is subject to general conditions, and we do not allow disruption of university events.”

Updated 4:17 p.m.