University of California Bans Protest Encampments and Masks at All Campuses

As University of California students return to school this week, UC President Michael V. Drake has instructed chancellors at all 10 of the school’s campuses to enforce rules banning protests that block walkways, protest encampments and the use of masks that conceal identity.

A similar policy has been announced for the California State University system.

The new policy attempts to limit the kinds of protests against the war in Gaza and American support for Israel in that war seen at college campuses across the country last spring.

“Freedom to express diverse viewpoints is fundamental to the mission of the University, and lawful protests play a pivotal role in that process. While the vast majority of protests held on our campuses are peaceful and nonviolent, some of the activities we saw this past year were not,” Drake wrote in a letter made public Monday.

“I hope that the direction provided in this letter will help you achieve an inclusive and welcoming environment at our campuses that protects and enables free expression while ensuring the safety of all community members by providing greater clarity and consistency in our policies and policy application,” Drake said also.

The news comes one week after a U.S. district judge ordered UCLA to protect Jewish students in areas of campus where protests against the Gaza war are held.

UCLA was the center of a particularly violent incident on late April, after anti-Gaza war protesters erected an encampment on the school’s centrally located Royce Quad. The entrances to the encampment were guarded, and reportedly, passersby were only allowed to enter if they wore a wristband that indicated they supported the protests.

On April 30, a group of counter protesters, who appeared to consist mainly of right wing activists who did not attend UCLA, attacked the protest encampment with fireworks, tear gas and pipes. The response from law enforcement, particularly UCLA police and security guards but also LAPD was heavily scrutinized after it took more than three hours to quell the attack and the attackers were allowed to leave without being arrested. The chief of the UCLA police department subsequently faced calls to resign.

The ruling against UCLA came as part of a lawsuit from three Jewish UCLA students — Yitzchok Frankel, Joshua Ghayoum and Eden Shemuelian — who say they faced religious discrimination because they have a religious obligation to support the Jewish state of Israel. Because of Royce Quad’s location, the encampment made it more difficult for students who supported Israel to get to class.

The encampment was evicted on May 6.