Harvard Heat Week Civil Disobedience Begins

April 13, 2015

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Updated: 12:45 p.m. April 13, 2015

DSC_3339 copy — A Massachusetts Hall resident overlooks Monday morning’s alumni rally.

On Sunday evening, members of the group Divest Harvard launched a mass sit-in around Massachusetts Hall, heralding the beginning of Harvard Heat Week. By 9 p.m. over 150 students, alumni and community members surrounded the office of Drew Faust, calling for Harvard to divest its $35.9 billion endowment of fossil fuels. The action builds on February’s sit-in, during which 34 students occupied the offices of President Drew Faust for 24 hours.
The crowd was addressed by prominent environmentalist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben, who encouraged both young and old to take a rigorous stance on climate change activism. According to the Heat Week Week website, other notable names joining Harvard Heat Week include director Darren Aronovosky ’91, Cornel West ’73, former US Senator Tim Wirth ’61, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, and 350.org’s Ferrial Adam.
In an interview with the HPR, Divest Harvard member Ted Hamilton JD ’16, spoke about why he has chosen to take action, “I’ll be taking part in Harvard Heat Week because the time has come to escalate our demands for a healthier society and a more moral university… a university that should be built on stewardship and care, not callousness and greed.”
Echoing Hamilton’s sentiment, Divest Harvard co-leader Talia Rothstein ’17 highlighted the moral duty of using Harvard’s clout as a political tool: “Harvard’s voice–when we chose to use it–echoes far beyond the gates of Harvard Yard.”

DSC_3354 copy — Following the Heat Week Alumni Rally (pictured here), hundreds of alumni launched a sit-in at Harvard’s Alumni Office.

Divest Harvard member Ashleigh Inglis ’15 and Ted Hamilton JD ’16 blockade the front entrance.

DSC_0500-680x1024 — 350.org Founder Bill McKibben ’82 speaks at the opening vigil of Harvard Heat Week.

DSC_3296 copy — Civil rights activist Jibreel Khazan, of the Greensboro sit-ins, joins the members of Divest Harvard for their first evening rally.

DSC_3288 copy 2 — As night falls, Harvard students line the walls of Massachusetts Hall, where they plan to remain until Friday.

Image credits to Mattea Mrkusic and Camille Schmidt.
Disclosure: The authors have been affiliated with Divest Harvard’s actions.