Harvard-Yale delayed by climate change protest
The second half of the Harvard-Yale game was off to a delayed start. The game was halted for half an hour after a crowd of spectators rushed into the field in protest over climate change. The game was paused for halftime at 1:40 p.m. with the Crimson leading the game at 15-3. Then, students from both schools walked into the field to begin the protest. This happened right after the Yale band finished performing.
The game was resumed only at 2:48 p.m. Eastern Time. Slogans such as “Nobody wins. Yale & Harvard are complicit in climate injustice” And “Hey hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go” were chanted.
The players on each team were stretching and warming up when the protest began. The players were asked to return to their locker rooms as hundreds flooded the field. Some had tied themselves together asking to be arrested by the police as they were being escorted off the field.
The spokesperson from Divest Harvard, Caleb Schwartz, said that this protest was the culmination of months of coordination. The game they chose was a deliberate choice to make a noise about the issues at hand. The statement issued by the Ivy League called this protest ‘regrettable’.
Yale’s statement, on the other hand, made it clear that they stood by their decision to encourage free speech, but they did not agree to the manner of execution of the demonstration. They said that the exercise of free speech on campus is subject to certain conditions that were violated by the disruption of a University event.
This was the 136th edition of ‘The Game’ between Harvard and Yale. The Bulldogs won the Ivy League title with a 50-43 win in double overtime.
The delay caused a problem for the finish of the game as the Yale Bowl does not have appropriate lighting. A double-overtime meant that some part of the game was completed in relative darkness.
