BERKELEY, Calif. >> A few hundred people are protesting outside a hall where conservative commentator Ben Shapiro is speaking at the University of California, Berkeley.

The demonstrators are peaceful, with some chanting against fascism, white supremacists and President Donald Trump.

Others were holed up today inside a student building. Earlier, they waved signs from a pedestrian walkway protesting the university’s decision to allow the event featuring the former editor at Breitbart News.

Inside the hall, Shapiro addressed a friendly crowd. He encouraged people to hold civil discussions with people who have different opinions, saying that’s what America is all about.

He condemned white supremacists as “a very small select group of absolutely terrible people who believe absolutely terrible things.”

The campus and surrounding Berkeley streets are under tight security after a series of previous events turned violent.