PALO ALTO, Calif. >> Stanford University officials have agreed to meet with students in a sit-in who are demanding the university divest in fossil fuel companies.

The Oakland Tribune reports President John Hennessy will meet Friday with the protesters, who have held a sit-in since Monday in the sandstone and tile-cloistered Main Quadrangle, home to famed Memorial Church.

The protest by the group Fossil Free Stanford has intensified into an action involving alumni, staff and esteemed faculty members such as biologist Paul Ehrlich and computer scientist Eric Roberts.

In a statement, the university has told protesters that they must leave the Main Quadrangle and move their tents and belongings to nearby White Plaza instead. It says failure to do so would be grounds for disciplinary action and possible police action.

The students say they have no plans to move.