15 UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Protesters Arrested

The university said the students were arrested at about 9 p.m. Tuesday

Fifteen students at the University of Massachusetts' Amherst campus demanding that the system divest from fossil fuel investments have been arrested after refusing to end their sit-in at the school's administration building.

The university said the students were arrested at about 9 p.m. Tuesday after President Marty Meehan and other key officials agreed to advocate for the divestment of fossil fuels from the five-campus system's $770 million endowment.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that Meehan and trustees Chairman Victor Woolridge said it was the "next logical step" after the university divested from direct investment in coal companies last year.

The students were charged with trespassing. They are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. Their sit-in in the Whitmore Administration Building had started Monday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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