Just before 6 p.m. on Monday, the final Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) protestors remaining in the Smith Union encampment walked out to a large, cheering crowd gathered on Dudley Coe Quad after reaching an agreement with College administrators. The encampment lasted for a total of four days, beginning on Thursday evening.

At this time, the details of the final terms reached between the SJP protesters and the administration remain unclear. However, according to protesters familiar with the negotiations, conversations between the two groups on Monday centered around the disciplinary process for students in the encampment, responsibility for shutting down Smith Union and discussions about violations of Title VI policies.

Students inside Smith Union communicated to the crowd outside the building that the negotiation did not result in the College agreeing to the terms of Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum, the chief aim of the encampment.

“[College administrators] have agreed to understand a context of good faith for the students who have engaged in this action,” lead encampment organizer Olivia Kenney ’25 told protesters Monday night. “The College has finally come and agreed to work with us in good faith toward a conclusion to this action.”

President Safa Zaki emailed members of the College just before 9 p.m. Monday to notify them of the encampment being cleared and stated that involved students will face the College disciplinary process.

“These past few days have been stressful and unsettling. We heard from some members of our community that these events have left them feeling vulnerable,” she wrote. “We take these concerns very seriously as a community that is devoted to a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

Protesters were notified late Sunday night that they would receive temporary suspensions if they did not clear the space by 8:30 a.m. Monday. Those who remained in the encampment past this deadline received a letter from Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe informing them that they had been temporarily suspended and that remaining past 5 p.m. would result in “further disciplinary action.”

Around 4 p.m., at least eight students climbed through the lower windows of Smith Union to join student protesters in the encampment, nearly doubling the number of students inside. A large crowd of protesters from the College and greater community then gathered by Smith Union’s south entrance in anticipation of the College’s 5 p.m. encampment evacuation deadline.

At exactly 5 p.m., security escorted six students out of the building who chose to leave the encampment at that time while several others remained inside. Just after 5:30 p.m., Kenney, still in the building, addressed the crowd from a window to announce that remaining protesters agreed to clear the encampment after negotiating with the College.

However, Kenney noted that administrators did not ultimately agree to abide by the demands of the student referendum, chiefly among them a commitment to no future investment in “defense-focused funds.”

“We are all incredibly disappointed that this action was not able to be ended with the meeting of the Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum,” Kenney told protesters.

At 5:48 p.m., security officers escorted the remaining protesters out of the Smith Union service entrance facing Sills Drive. Faculty members in the building were also escorted out by security.

Protesters exiting the building were embraced by a large crowd as they ascended the hill back toward Coe Quad.

“The students, united, will never be defeated,” the crowd chanted.

Zaki commented in her email that while she has respect for Bowdoin’s history of student activism, the encampment violated “policies governing building use and student behavior,” prompting the College’s response.

“These rules are not symbolic. They are designed to ensure that members of the community can feel welcome and safe in every space on campus and have fair access to those spaces,” Zaki wrote.

College security officers were posted at Smith’s entrances starting on Friday morning when the building was first closed, monitoring the situation until the students were escorted from the building.

“Safety and Security officers were here for one reason and one reason only, to ensure the safety and security of every single member of this community,” Associate Vice President of Safety and Security Randy Nichols said as students were led out of Smith Union by Security.

As of the time of writing, Smith Union and the operations within it remain closed for the night. Executive Director of Dining Ryan Miller said that all employees impacted by the closure were offered their regular hours at other dining locations or payment for their regular shifts for the duration of the encampment.

“Once Smith Union is reopened, we will do our best to get back up and running as soon as we can,” Miller wrote in an email to the Orient.

While the College returns to normal operations, Kenney hopes the encampment will spark future conversation and support on campus. Though the demonstration did not meet the full scope of SJP’s demands, Kenney still feels protesters were able to build momentum behind their cause.

“We want to acknowledge that the space that we have opened up on this campus for speech on Palestine … has broken down doors in the context of our campus community,” Kenney said. “This is not the end.”

Janet Briggs contributed to this report.