AMHERST, Mass. (AP) – Hundreds of student protesters shut down the main administrative building at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on Thursday to protest long-standing complaints including increased student fees, a student government leader said.

The students occupied the Whitmore building after a noontime rally in the student union ballroom, said Jeffrey Napolitano, president of the Graduate Student Government.

Police closed down the Whitmore building because it was overcrowded after a line of students snaked from the hallway outside the chancellor’s office down to the floor below.

Napolitano said after the protesters were threatened with arrest, they moved outside and shut down parts of North Pleasant Street, a primary road through campus.

Protesters were calling for lower student fees, more funding to promote diversity and an end to what they say are excessive police dorm patrols.

Napolitano said the student protest Thursday, which began with the start of a two-day boycott of classes, comes because students’ concerns have been ignored. He estimated the student turnout at near 1,000.

“If this doesn’t send a message, nothing will,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re going to have to do this over and over.”

The administration estimated the student protesters at about 600.

The campus remained open for business but there were reports that some classes did not meet as scheduled, said university spokesman Ed Blaguszewski.

“It will take some time for the Provost’s Office to review the information and determine how many classes were affected,” the university said in a statement.

There were no arrests, Blaguszewski said.

Interim Chancellor Thomas Cole Jr. was away from campus on previously scheduled business. Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Joyce Hatch told the protesting students Cole would meet with student leaders on Tuesday.

About 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled at the school. Tuition has not increased since the 1999-2000 academic year, but fees have risen as state revenues dropped and the university’s operating budget has fallen.

The administration says fees have risen at or below the rate of inflation the past few years. There is a police presence in dorms, but all proper law enforcement protocols are followed, Blaguszewski said.

In-state students currently pay about $17,400 for the combined cost of tuition, room and board and fees at the university’s Amherst campus.

AP-ES-11-15-07 1724EST