Hundreds of students have disrupted a football game. The game is held every year and it involves students who come from Harvard and Yale. The students who disrupted the game were doing so in an attempt to raise awareness of climate change. The protest happened during half time and the people who participated demanded that two universities pull together and stop using fossil fuels. Officials asked them to leave but some of the students who were on the field as players actually chose to join the protest instead. 50 people were escorted off the field by the police whereas other people chose to leave voluntarily.
Storming the Field
If you have ever placed a football bet before then you will know how much things like this can disrupt a game, but that being said, they don’t happen too often at student football games. The protest started when tons of students stormed the field and they all linked arms too.
Some of them held signs that asked both Harvard and Yale to raise awareness about climate change and to stop burning fossil fuels. Some of them demanded that they disclose, divest and reinvest too. Divestment refers to the shredding of bonds, stocks and other investments, in a way that tries to tackle climate change.
Delay of Game
When the protest happened, it actually ended up delaying the game for around half an hour. A video was released, and the captain of the Harvard team came out to say that it’s true. Both universities were investing in various industries that were going to destroy the future of those who attend. He also came out to say that when climate change happens, nobody wins. Harvard and Yale can’t continue to promote the idea of knowledge while they are supporting companies who choose to mislead the public and harm the progress that climate change has made.
This is why a lot of students chose to try and do something about it and join the movement. A spokeswoman at Yale stated that even though the university supports the right to freedom, they do not approve of the disruption of events or the hard work that the university puts into their sporting program.
Not the Best Idea
Harvard have also released a statement stating that they do not believe that divestment is a reliable way to try and tackle climate change. Universities are playing a crucial role in trying to tackle climate change and Harvard themselves are fully committed to leadership. They support research, engagement of the community and end even education. They have also worked hard to reduce their own carbon footprint too, and this is one of the many reasons why they believe that the protest was not required.
Political figures have joined the movement to try and show support for the students and the whole thing has gained quite a lot of traction. That being said, the university certainly doesn’t approve and believe that there are better ways of making a change in a positive way.
