Students gather outside the locked Smith Union, chanting to communicate with students and Security inside the encampment. Janet Briggs / Bowdoin Orient

A group of students on Friday broke past security that were blocking Smith Union on the Bowdoin College campus to join a pro-Palestine encampment that had been set up since Thursday.

College security has blocked access to Smith Union Friday morning as protesters affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) remain in the encampment they established Thursday evening, according to the Bowdoin Orient.

College security personnel had been posted at the entrances to the building. Orient staff were denied entry.

Protesters broke past security at the South entrance around noon to join the encampment. The doors to Smith Union were being held open by students and security officers are standing in a line to block entrance. About 20 students entered.

Associate Vice President of Safety and Security Randy Nichols told students not to enter as doors were opened. Cheers and chants can be heard from inside Smith Union.

Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe sent an email to students and employees at 8:18 a.m. to provide an update on the encampment.

“While we support students’ right to express their views, it is essential to note that college policy prohibits activities that disrupt the normal operations of the College,” Hoppe wrote. “Smith Union is a shared space, meant to be accessible to all members of our campus community, and no group or individual can restrict access to it.”

He stated that students who did not break down tents and vacate the space could face potential disciplinary action. According to a post on SJP’s Instagram, student protesters are receiving notice from the Office of the Dean of Students about scheduled disciplinary meetings for this morning.

Around 8:30 a.m., about 15 student protesters gathered outside Smith Union’s south entrance to demonstrate. They led a chant to “free Palestine” and were apparently trying to communicate with students and officers inside the building.

“To our beautiful bears who are encamping inside the Union, we send you our love, we will not leave you,” students chanted. “This institution does not scare us. To the security, you do not scare us.”

At 10 a.m., more than 70 students and other community members flooded the path to Smith’s south entrance, holding “honor the referendum” signs and chanting. Students who remained in the encampment overnight came to the windows to wave at protesters outside.

“Open Smith, open Smith,” students chanted.

Turned toward Moulton Union, where several College administrators are housed, students shouted: “Dear Bowdoin, your colors are showing.”

At 11 a.m. The Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), a group representing around 40 members of the Bowdoin community, sent a statement to the Orient in support of the student demonstration in Smith Union.

“We firmly believe that this campaign represents the core values of Bowdoin College, namely its commitment to the common good,” the group wrote, referencing the student’s calls for the College to implement the action items stated in the “Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum.”

“We are deeply concerned with this administration’s mischaracterization of the student demonstration as disruptive or creating a “hostile environment.” It is also concerning that students were threatened with disciplinary action without adequate notice. Several students reported to us that they had less than 10 mins to get to the Dean’s office,” the statement continued.

FSJP also highlighted their desire for the College to engage in “genuine, good faith dialogue” with students involved in the protest moving forward.

Nate Hintze emailed students at 9:56 a.m. that Student Activities will be assisting students at Moulton Union today, and the Mail Center will be open and accessible through the hallway in Sargent Gym.

This is a developing story.

Miles Berry contributed to this report.