University of California Bans Encampments, Face Masks

Student protesters set up at the intersection of Campus Drive and W. Peltason Drive near the University of California–Irvine in Irvine, Calif., on April 29, 2024. Rudy Blalock/The Epoch Times

The president of the University of California (UC) said on Aug. 19 that the 10-campus university system would enforce policies banning encampments and the wearing of masks to conceal identity in response to pro-Palestinian protests across the country.

In a letter to the university community, UC President Michael V Drake said that his office and campus leaders have reflected on “the events of the past year” and sought ways to strengthen policies and procedures.

They found that while the “vast majority” of protests held on UC’s campuses were peaceful and nonviolent, some activities over the past year were not.

Drake said that “consistent application of policies and laws” is needed to balance protecting free speech rights with ensuring the safety of students and maintaining critical university operations.

He said the policies would prohibit encampments, unauthorized structures, and restrictions on free movement on university property. They will also ban the use of masks to conceal identity and prohibit people from refusing to identify themselves to university personnel.

Drake said the university will also develop a framework for consistent enforcement of its policies and responses to policy violations, as well as launch a campus climate initiative.

“Our ultimate goal is for all of our community members to feel supported in their ability to express themselves, and to pursue their studies, research, patient care, and other work on our campuses,” he stated.

In a separate letter to campus leaders, Drake said the university will implement a “consistent tiered response” for those who violate institutional policies.

Individuals who violate campus policy will first receive a warning. If the conduct persists, the UC police department or campus fire marshal will assess the situation and may issue an unlawful assembly notice.

In the final phase of the tiered response, those who continue to break the law “may be cited, detained and arrested for unlawful behavior, or subject to other police actions.” Stay-away orders may be issued for “higher severity violations” and repeat offenses.

This came a week after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by three students, prohibiting the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) from providing programs and access to buildings if Jewish students were blocked.

The students sued UCLA in June for allowing protesters to barricade the center of the campus and establish an encampment that obstructed passage to campus facilities.

In his 16-page ruling on Aug. 13, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi described the situation at UCLA as “unimaginable” and “so abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.”

The university is among the many campuses in the United States where demonstrators have set up encampments to protest the war in Gaza, which was Israel’s response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.