"For years, they tried to convince universities that investing in fossil fuels was immoral. Now they’re telling them it’s illegal."

"Students fighting climate change have been trying to pressure universities to divest from the fossil fuel industry for years: They have shouted slogans, marched, rallied, waved signs. They have signed petitions and passed resolutions and referendums. They have disrupted Zooms and football games and board meetings and administration buildings. They have covered themselves in oil.

Now, frustrated by the response from some school officials, a coalition of student groups working with the nonprofit Climate Defense Project has escalated the fight. Instead of just trying to convince university leaders that their investments are immoral for contributing to global warning, the groups argue that the investments are also illegal.

Student-led campaigns at Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Vanderbilt universities and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed complaints Wednesday with their respective state attorneys general in a bid to compel schools to divest. The campaigns have requested an investigation into whether the schools have violated a state law related to investments by nonprofit institutions."

Susan Svrluga reports for the Washington Post February 16, 2022. [2]