Schedule
Each day will begin at 9:00 AM at Mass Hall in Harvard Yard, and end with a Closing Vigil at 8:30 PM at Mass Hall.
If you plan to participate in civil disobedience during Heat Week, you MUST attend an Action Training prior to taking action.
Action Trainings will be held Sun at 4:00 PM and Mon-Thurs at 7:00 PM, all at First Parish in Cambridge, 3 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02138.
Sunday April 12 - Heat Week Launch
- Faith Service & Discussion w/ Tim DeChristopher: Climate Justice & the Moral Imperative = 10:30 AM, Old Cambridge Baptist (1151 Mass Ave)
- Action Training = 4:00-5:30 PM, First Parish in Cambridge (3 Church St)
- Heat Week Launch: Building a Movement for Divestment & Climate Action = 6:00 PM, First Parish in Cambridge (1446 Mass Ave)
Sunday evening we’ll gather for a rousing kickoff to the week. Come hear powerful voices discuss why Harvard Heat Week is so important, and attend a training on how to take effective, peaceful direct action to confront the climate crisis head-on and work for a better Harvard.
Speakers will include Bill McKibben ’82, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Darren Aronofsky ’91, Divest Harvard students Talia Rothstein ’17 and Ted Hamilton JD ’16, Sen. Tim Wirth ’61, Kelsey Wirth ’92, Bob Massie DBA ’89, Koreti Tiumalu, Jibreel Khazan, Ferrial Adam, and many more!
If you’re around earlier in the day, current Harvard Divinity School student and activist Tim DeChristopher will be giving a powerful sermon at Old Cambridge Baptist Church. And if you’re planning to partake in civil disobedience on Monday or at any point during the week, come to First Parish at 4:00 PM for an Action Training.
Click here for a Heat Week Launch Day Outreach Toolkit to spread the word and ask all your friends to join you!
Monday April 13 - Alumni Day
- Opening Festivities = 9:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Kickoff Rally = 10:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Divestment Public Teach-In = 5:45 PM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Action Training = 7:00-8:30 PM, First Parish in Cambridge (3 Church St)
- Closing Vigil = 8:30 PM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
We’ll kick off the week with a rousing showing by alumni/ae of all ages - come and take a stand for a better Harvard, one that lives up to the values it has instilled in its graduates.
Bring your classmates, bring your friends, and bring your Harvard gear - this is a day to show Harvard that we care deeply about our school and its image. Harvard’s continuing refusal to divest is tarnishing that image, but there’s still time for the University to stand on the right side of history.
Click here for an Alumni Day Outreach Toolkit to spread the word and ask all your friends to join you!
Tuesday April 14 - Justice & Labor Day
- Opening Festivities = 9:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Opening Rally = 10:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Fight for $15 Rally = 2:30 PM, Harvard Sq. “T” Station in Harvard Sq.
- Action Training = 7:00-8:30 PM, First Parish in Cambridge
- Closing Vigil = 8:30 PM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
Tuesday we’ll highlight those most impacted by the climate crisis. These powerful voices will remind us of the very real consequences of inaction, and the danger in delaying the action needed to confront climate disaster.
Speakers will include organizers from the Pacific Islands, South Africa, and the Gulf Coast, as well as local organizers and residents dealing with the impacts of extraction and exploitation in Massachusetts.
We’ll also hear from our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, who are our strong partners in addressing the climate crisis with a just transition that ensures good jobs and fair pay for all. Following a sendoff rally in Harvard Square, please consider joining the April 14 mobilization in Boston to call for fair wages.
We’ll listen and learn, and come away with stronger resolve than ever before. Will Harvard join us in taking the next step?
Click here for a Justice & Labor Day Outreach Toolkit to spread the word and ask all your friends to join you!
Wednesday April 15 - Faith Day
- Opening Festivities = 9:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Opening Rally = 10:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Interfaith Service = 7:00 PM, First Parish in Cambridge
- Action Training = 7:00-8:30 PM, First Parish in Cambridge
- Closing Vigil = 8:30 PM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
Faith communities have been amazing leaders in both the divestment movement and the broader fight for climate justice. Wednesday we will honor their voices and all they have done to create a better world.
Led by many of Harvard’s august graduates and local clergy who have led the fight for social justice for many years, we’ll take principled action during the day supported by verse and song, then gather for an evening service of reflection on the steps of the iconic Memorial Church in Harvard Yard.
Click here for a Faith Day Outreach Toolkit to spread the word and ask all your friends to join you!
Thursday April 16 - Students Day
- Opening Festivities = 9:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Opening Rally = 10:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Student Open Forum = 3:00 PM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Action Training = 7:00-8:30 PM, First Parish in Cambridge
- Closing Vigil = 8:30 PM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
Students have led the Harvard divestment effort from the beginning, and are the driving force behind Heat Week. Students from all parts of the University have been working for nearly three years for a better Harvard and a better future.
Thursday we will hear the stories and motivations of students working for divestment, and highlight the efforts of their coalition partners that have made a divestment an important issue for every student at Harvard.
Click here for a Students Day Outreach Toolkit to spread the word and ask all your friends to join you!
Friday April 17 - The Tide Is Turning
- Opening Festivities = 9:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Opening Rally = 10:00 AM, Mass Hall in Harvard Yard
- Faculty Forum on Divestment = 2:00 PM, Harvard Hall, Room 104
- NOTE: Click here for more info on the Faculty Forum.
- Heat Week Closing Rally = 6:00 PM, Science Center Plaza at Harvard
As Harvard Heat Week comes to a close, Harvard Faculty and financial professionals will lead us in a powerful day of action and learning about how the tide has turned — support for divestment is widespread, and the right choice both morally and financially.
Click here for a The Tide Is Turning Outreach Toolkit to spread the word and ask all your friends to join you!
For more about what’s been happening with Divest Harvard so far, click here.