NORTHAMPTON — Students protesting Smith College’s investments in weapons manufacturers occupied College Hall for a 10th day Friday, continuing their call for the women’s college to stop supporting corporations supplying armaments used in Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The protesters, more than 50 in number, submitted a new petition this week to the board of trustees’ Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, and a member of that committee has reached out to the group, a spokesperson said Friday. The spokesperson, who declined to be identified, said the group also has received an offer to meet with the board, and is considering that invitation.

The board rejected a previous divestment petition from Students for Justice in Palestine, describing the endowment’s investment in military contractors and weapons manufacturers as “negligible and entirely indirect.”

The protesters have vowed to continue the occupation until the college divests from military contractors.

“There’s no such thing as a negligible contribution to genocide,” one student said last week.

The student representative said Friday the activists have received a lot of support from outside, including meals, and an alumni rally is scheduled for noon Saturday.

College officials said communications are ongoing, and President Sarah Willie-LeBreton is in conversations with the protesters. Accommodations have been made for staff who normally work in College Hall, which is the administration building, to work elsewhere.

The protest began March 28 with a walkout of approximately 400 students who then began a sit-in at College Hall. The numbers dwindled significantly on the first day when college officials locked the hall early after most of the protesters had left to gather supplies for their overnight stay, according to the activists.

Willie-LeBreton and interim dean Alex Keller met with the sit-in protesters March 30 and agreed to convey their request that the board of trustees’ Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility hold an emergency meeting to act on their demands.

College officials have previously stated they endorse freedom of expression as long as it is not disruptive.

“The continued occupation of College Hall disrupts the regular and essential operations of the institution, including by impeding and restricting various administrative and academic operations as well as student services within College Hall,” the president said in a statement last week.

“Students in the building have been cautioned about college policies regarding their presence in buildings that are closed and possible academic consequences for missed classes.”

Smith students stayed away from class in large numbers Monday and demonstrated in front of College Hall in support of the protesters.

Protesters have linked the sit-in to a tradition of protest at Smith, including an anti-apartheid sit-in at College Hall in 1986 that eventually forced the college to divest from companies that did business with South Africa.