PLAINFIELD -- The two-day protest that shut down Goddard College ended peacefully Tuesday when students barricaded in administrative offices emerged to discuss their demands with faculty.

Ten activists had blocked access to the Community Center's second-story offices with furniture -- including bedsprings, desks, chairs and dressers from nearby dormitories -- and issued 26 demands.

Although the administration did not agree to the demands, most of the students left the offices during the night Monday, and the remaining three emerged from behind the barricade Tuesday at about 1 p.m.

"I'm feeling very good right now." said Goddard President Jack Lindquist after the offices were opened. He said the Community Life Committee, composed of students and faculty, will decide if punitive action will be taken against the group.

Lindquist said he will not press charges.

Zenzile Madikinea, a South African and former Goddard student who orchestrated the protest with 23-year-old student Dan Abrams, said after emerging. "The time has come to move things forward, to come together as one."

Madikinea and others removed the furniture from stairwells and doorways while students applauded below, allowing staffers to return to their offices. About a hundred students. including the protesters, and many faculty members met throughout the day to discuss the issues raised.

STUDENTS CELEBRATE: Students who barricaded the administration offices at Goddard College in Plainfield celebrate after they ended their protest Tuesday. From left are Zenzile Madikinea, who is a former student, Brenda Bernile and Dan Abrams.

The demands included increased student involvement in the administration, full disclosure of the school's financial records, freedom of political prisoners worldwide, and an end to homelessness in the United States.

In the final hours of the protest, Madikinea agreed to remove the barriers if the administration would honor the disclosure request -- a demand Lindquist said is already in effect. "It's a funny issue to have as an issue. Everybody knows they can come to me for that information. I'm glad it wasn't ending homelessness in America, that would have been harder to do.

Before the barricades were removed, Madikinea cried quietly and said: "Because we are non-violent and don't want anybody to get hurt, we are coming down to press all our demands. We care about our students and respect the process.

"We did a far-out action that has not been done in years. We were brave enough and had the conviction to try and change things," he said.

The protesters got little sleep during the two nights they occupied the offices, and disagreed on some issues. Protesting student Levi Monko, for example, felt the group needed to work with the entire student body, while others argued that the demands should remain non-negotiable.

Students and staff said tempers were building while the protest continued, and one staff member was threatened by a protester with a fire extinguisher when the staffer attempted to remove the barrier Tuesday morning.

"The people upstairs are perfect examples of the need for mental health services on this campus," said student Hilary Mosher, 36, who attends through the Single Parent Program. She called the protest "terrorist acts."

Dian Mueller, 28, a master's degree student, said: "The barrier is a hostile action in and of itself, and it seems to be feeding on itself."

But Mueller and most of the students and faculty agreed that some of the issues raised by the protesters need to be addressed.

"They succeeded in creating a sense of urgency," faculty member Dan Chadorkoff said. "But it is hard to talk through a field of bedsprings."