48 arrested at Yale protest over fossil fuel investments

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale University police have arrested 48 people who were protesting the Ivy League school’s investments in fossil fuel companies and its Puerto Rico debt holdings.

The arrests came during a sit-in demonstration Friday inside Yale’s investment office as more than 300 students and community members rallied outside the building.

Protesters demanded Yale divest endowment funds from fossil fuel companies because of concerns about climate change. They also said they wanted Yale to cancel its holdings in a fund that holds some of Puerto Rico’s massive debt and is suing the U.S. territory to be paid while the island still struggles to recover from hurricane damage.

Yale officials say a school committee has previously addressed concerns about fossil fuel investments and Puerto Rican debt, but that they support student freedom of expression.