A Harvard event featuring Stephen Colbert and Yo-Yo Ma was cut short after someone pulled the fire alarm and all attendees had to evacuate the building.
The former late-night TV host and the celebrated cellist took the stage at the university’s Sanders Theatre Thursday night for “Arts for Life’s Sake,” but Colbert and Ma’s conversation was reportedly interrupted by the fire alarm around 40 minutes into the planned 90-minute event, according to the Harvard Crimson and other local outlets. The pair were then evacuated along with the capacity crowd and the rest of the event was subsequently canceled.
The fire department “found no reason for the alarm activation” and “the alarm system was checked and reset by Harvard Staff,” according to Cambridge Day. The university is looking into the cause of the alarm, per the Crimson.
Members of the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers (HGSU-UAW) were picketing the theater before and during the event. The union, which represents 4,000 students, has been on strike since Oct. 27 to demand a third-party arbitration process for cases involving discrimination and harassment, higher pay and protections for noncitizen student workers in their next contract. The demonstrators’ chants, horns and drums could reportedly be heard from inside the event before the alarm went off after Colbert and Ma, who are longtime friends and collaborators, started speaking and taking audience questions.
“The alarm was unrelated to HGSU’s picketing activity and we have no knowledge of its cause,” the union said in a statement shared on Instagram. “Members at the picket were relieved to learn that no one inside was at risk. As always, HGSU remains committed to securing a fair contract through collective action and the bargaining process.”
The union had attempted to reach out to Colbert and Ma ahead of the event, asking them to relocate or reschedule the conversation for after the strike in solidarity with their efforts. “[P]lease don’t cross our picket line tomorrow night!” the union posted to their Instagram account Wednesday. The union had previously reached out to author John Greene, who also had a Harvard appearance scheduled Thursday. Greene moved his event to Zoom to not cross the picket line and reportedly donated his honorarium to the union’s strike fund.
Following the disrupted Colbert and Ma event, Paul Curran, managing director of the Harvard Office of Labor and Employee Relations, sent a letter addressed to union leadership Friday to reiterate university policies.
“As HGSU-UAW members have been advised on multiple occasions, the campus use rules apply to all campus spaces and all community members must abide by them,” Curran wrote. “HGSU-UAW members who violate University policies and rules while exercising their right to strike will be subject to employment disciplinary action.”
