Protesters Interrupt Yale-Harvard Game
A group of students stormed the field at Yale Bowl during halftime of the Yale-Harvard game in a climate change protest on Saturday.
The students sat in the middle of the field and delayed the start of the second half by at least 45 minutes.
Initially, about 40 to 50 students rushed the field and staged a sit in at the 50-yard line, according to NBC Connecticut's Kevin Nathan. Another 500 or so joined in a short time later, but quickly dispersed, he said.
The original protesters remained on the field, until police and security officials began to clear them.
A group called Fossil Free Yale tweeted that is was their group who led the protest.
"Over 150 Yale + Harvard students, alumni, faculty stormed the field at #HarvardYale to demand DIVESTMENT from fossil fuels & cancel holdings in Puerto Rican debt," the tweet read.
Yale University issued a statement on Saturday afternoon:
"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."
Yale then said it stood with the Ivy League in its statement, which read:
"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.”
Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
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