"[Divesting] would have a material impact on the return of the endowment and its contribution to the operating budget of the University,” the CIO said.

In a victory for environmental activists at Cornell, students demanded the University divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry by the end of 2020. 

It’s a hot, hazy night at Cornell University. It’s May 1958. An effigy of President Malott is burning in front of Sage Hall. It’s hanging from a thick-branched American-elm tree, and it’s labeled “No Ban” and “This Ain’t Ezra.” There is a mob. A huge mob that eventually breaks up on central campus. Some members go to The Palms to get beer. Others trek a mile to Malott’s house. The marchers are armed. They are angry. They are armed with eggs and rocks. They aim at a single target: the president. Divestment Protest: Student activists in the 1985 divestment protests. Sun File Photo.