Two-dozen students lay still on the ground in an hour-long “die-in” in front of Day Hall Thursday to pressure the University to divest from fossil fuels.

Responding to local students’ demands, Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 announced Monday, the 43rd annual Earth Day holiday, that the City of Ithaca will not invest in fossil fuels for as long as he is mayor.

Those in favor of divestment said environmental damage from fossil fuels has negatively impacted communities, while members of Cornell Republicans said they are concerned about the effect divestment could have on Cornell’s endowment.

The University has no plans to divest a large portion of its endowment from the fossil fuels industry in the “immediate foreseeable future,” President David Skorton said at a Student Assembly meeting Thursday.

"[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.

Students gathered outside Day Hall  Monday to present handwritten letters to President David Skorton calling for the University to divest its endowment funds from the fossil fuel industry.

“We have a moral responsibility to withdraw our support from this destructive industry and instead look toward a green economy and a just and sustainable future,” one student said.

In an interview with The Sun on Monday, President David Skorton responded to student demands to divest the University’s endowment from the fossil fuel industry. Skorton urged caution, noting that Cornell cannot sacrifice its financial health in pursuit of social causes. Still, he embraced the use of divestment as a useful tool in general.