Earlier this semester, the Dalai Lama stopped at Middlebury College in Vermont for a speaking gig. On October 12, a few days before, a press release was sent to 2/3 of the student body, several members of the staff and administration, and over 150 local and national media outlets from the College Office of Communications—specifically, from Tim Shornak of the Dalai Lama Welcoming Committee. The press release detailed Middlebury’s decision, in honor of the Dalai Lama’s visit, to divest its $883 million endowment from the war and fossil fuel industries.

The catch? Tim Shornak doesn’t exist, and there is no official Dalai Lama Welcoming Committee. Four days after the fake press release went out, the four students who had sent the email posted a letter around campus and on their blog revealing their identities and defending their actions, saying that the hoax email was meant to draw attention to the hypocrisy that Middlebury, one of the most environmentally friendly campuses in the nation, probably has money tied up in industries that destroy people and the planet.

The university’s October 17 statement does not confirm or deny that the university invests in war or fossil fuel industries, but does make clear that the administration was not amused by the students’ actions, stating that “the college is investigating this matter and whether those policies were violated in this instance, and will take disciplinary action if warranted” and that the university would continue “fostering open, well-informed discussions on this topic.”