Shortly afterward, police cut off all student access to the building. No students from outside were allowed to enter, and students inside who left would not be allowed to return. Only one student representative, Adam Carlis, was allowed to continue entering and exiting the building.

Some students who had been hoping to go inside were surprised when access to the building was cut off.

"I was in there all day," said Tufts student Emily Good, who had left the building with the intention of returning right before the doors were locked. "I left an hour ago for a bit and they sealed it off."

By 9 p.m. last night, many students' energy was beginning to wane. The rap music that had been directed out though the building's main windows had been silenced, and the students inside tried to rest.

Outside, about 40 participants and onlookers lit candles and settled in to await an announcement of what action administrators and police would take.

Dave B. Monaghan circled through the group signing up supporters for one-hour solidarity shifts that would last through the evening. "We are splitting up the responsibility, to make sure that their are always people outside offering emotional support."

Outside the building, a spray-painted banner hung tied between two trees. "We get our policy, you get Bendetson," it read.