At 'The Game,' Protesters Chant 'OK, Boomer'

Crowd of mostly students disrupts annual Yale-Harvard showdown, 20-30 arrested
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 24, 2019 5:41 AM CST
Student Protesters Delay Yale-Harvard Game, Chant 'OK, Boomer'
Demonstrators stage a protest on the field at the Yale Bowl disrupting the start of the second half of an NCAA college football game between Harvard and Yale, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, in in New Haven, Conn.   (AP Photo/Jimmy Golen)

Protesters in the colors of both Harvard and Yale staged a sit-in at midfield of Yale Bowl during halftime of the 136th edition of the annual football rivalry known as The Game. Most walked off after about an hour, reports the AP, and 20-30 who remained were arrested. A few dozen protesters initially trickled onto the field as the Yale band finished its halftime routine, some holding a banner asking the schools’ presidents to divest from the fossil fuel industry. Other signs referred to Puerto Rican debt and the treatment of Uighurs. Yale said in a statement that the school “stands firmly for the right to free expression." "It is regrettable,” the Ivy League said, “that the orchestrated protest came ... when fellow students were participating in a collegiate career-defining contest and an annual tradition when thousands ... celebrate the storied traditions of both football programs and universities."

Between 20 and 30 people were arrested and given a court date. Rachel Sadoff, a junior at Harvard, said about 150 students from the two schools planned to participate and about 100 more in the stands joined in. "Our goal was to spread the word,” Sadoff said. “If more people speak up, our colleges will have to listen." The group chanted: “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Fossil fuels have got to go!” When the 15-minute halftime expired and the protest continued, hundreds more fans streamed onto the field to join in. The announcer implored the group to leave, repeating, "As a courtesy to both teams, the game must resume." Protesters responded by chanting, "OK, boomer." "They’re all supposed to be intelligent people. It looks like there’s a lot of common sense that has missed their generation,” Yale fan Chuck Crummie, 68, tells the Washington Post. Yale won 50-43 in double overtime in darkness in the unlit Yale Bowl to clinch the Ivy League championship.

(More Yale University stories.)

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