Who’s in Need of Checking Her Privilege?

Prof. Elizabeth Warren and Holly Petraeus speak with servicemembers and their families at a forum in Ft. Myer. Courtesy of CFPB

They call it “the Game.” The annual Harvard/Yale football match is among the most storied rivalries in college sports. But this year, the Game was more about politics than about sports, reports the WSJ.

Privileged Activist Professors – the “Others”

So it was on Saturday in New Haven, when the Harvard-Yale game was disrupted by students and others who stormed the field at half time to demand that the schools divest from fossil fuels.

The disruption lasted about an hour, which meant the game ended in near darkness because the Yale Bowl lacks lighting for night games. At one point a few hundred protestors were on the field, including some demanding the cancellation of holdings in Puerto Rican debt. Most left when police appeared, but a handful who refused were arrested.

At the Mercy of Ninnies?

Who sided with the protesters? Well, yes, of course, Senator Elizabeth Warren did, bless her little heart, tweeting:

I support the students, organizers, and activists demanding accountability on climate action and more at #HarvardYale.” The former Harvard law professor was joined by such other esteemed climate scientists as actress Alyssa Milano, who accused “our richest universities” of being “invested in the destruction of the planet.”

Not surprising, Harvard disagreed. The University responded in a statement: “We agree on the urgency” of ending the use of fossil fuels, we respectfully disagree with divestment activists on the means by which a university should confront it.”

Harvard Not Teaching Respect for Rights of Others?

So does that mean that Harvard should “do a better job of teaching its students about respect for the rights of others, as well as how much Harvard’s endowment contributes to their education?”

Inconvenient Truths

As the WSJ notes, “Saturday’s stampede was a stunt designed to gain attention and intimidate Harvard and Yale to change policy no matter the inconvenience to large numbers of other people who wanted to enjoy a weekend afternoon with friends at an old school tie. Maybe someone should tell these self-anointed moralists: Check your privilege.”