Tufts Students Strike For Climate Change

MEDFORD, MA — Two hundred students at Tufts University walked out of their classes Friday to rally for climate change on the steps of Sophia Gordon Hall. Friday's strike was co-sponsored by 25 Tufts organizations and scheduled to happen in tandem with the Boston Climate Strike on the Boston Common and similar events around the world.

Striking students want Tufts to declare a climate emergency, divest from fossil fuels and publish an indigenous land acknowledgment, according to Sunrise Tufts, one of the sponsors of the event. After rallying at Tufts, students joined the climate strike in downtown Boston.

Several hundred protesters converged on the State House Friday afternoon, according to police. State Police spokesman David Procopio said some protesters were inside the building, while the majority remained outside. Twenty-seven people, all adults, were arrested and charged with trespassing after refusing to leave when the building closed, according to Procopio.

Climate strikes held throughout the United States Friday called for a Green New Deal, respect for indigenous land and sovereignty, environmental justice, protection of biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.