Stephen Colbert and Yo-Yo Ma found themselves caught up in a bitter strike by the Harvard Graduate Student Union on Thursday evening, Nov. 6, when protesters disrupted their appearance at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre.
Colbert and Ma were participating in a discussion, “Arts for Life’s Sake,” before a capacity crowd when striking graduate students began demonstrating outside, shouting, blowing horns and banging drums, making it difficult to hear the speakers, especially the soft-spoken Ma.
The event celebrated the 50th anniversary of Harvard’s Learning from Performers program. Harvard President Alan Garber was among those in the audience.
The program began promptly at 7 p.m. with a film clip from 1976 showing Ma, then a Harvard student, participating in a master class with world-renowned Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.
Next, the 11-member student ensemble Crimson Cellos performed to enthusiastic applause.
“Imagine playing the cello for Yo-Yo Ma,” Colbert remarked afterward.
Ma and Colbert then introduced each other. Colbert received loud applause, but the audience’s welcome for Ma was even louder.
The noise from the striking students was not noticeable until Ma and Colbert began talking and taking questions from the audience. At about 7:35 p.m., after Ma and Colbert had taken just three questions from the audience, the fire alarm went off. The audience had to leave the premises.
Outside, striking graduate students marched in circles and chanted, asking Harvard to negotiate with them.
The fire department arrived, and then the audience was sent home. In response to a question from Cambridge Day, Assistant Fire Chief Scott Volz said via email “The fire department investigated the alarm, found no reason for the alarm activation, the alarm system was checked and reset by Harvard Staff and the Fire Department cleared.”
The graduate studens union released a statement disavowing any involvement with the alarm being pulled. “The alarm was unrelated to HGSU’s picketing activity and we have no knowledge of its cause. Members at the picket were relieved to learn that no one inside was at risk,” the statement read in part.
The graduate student union, which represents thousands of Harvard workers, began striking Oct. 27 amid disagreements over compensation, protections for international students and procedures for handling harassment and discrimination complaints.
Before Thursday’s event, the union had called on Ma and Colbert to cancel their appearance in solidarity with striking workers.
Initial indications were that Harvard plans to reschedule the event, but at least one showgoer received a note from the Harvard Box Office that the event would not be rescheduled. Harvard has not responded to a request for comment.
This story was updated to add a comment from the Cambridge Fire Department and the Harvard Graduate Students Union.
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Why did the fire alarm go off? Did someone pull it to intentionally disrupt the event? Why didn’t the event continue once it was determined there was no fire?
Why would a grad student strike mean this performance should be shut down? Grad students generally work in research or teaching, not managing theater events.