University of California bans encampments, masks as new academic year starts

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The president of the University of California (UC) announced on Monday that the top public university systems in the United States will enforce rules to ban encampments, face masks and other activities related to protests as students return for the new school year to its 10 campuses, which were hit by waves of pro-Palestine demonstrations earlier this year.

In a letter to the university system's community, UC President Michael V. Drake said the university will take several steps to facilitate more consistency across its campuses. These include establishing policies that prohibit camping or encampments, unauthorized structures, restrictions on free movement, masking to conceal identity, and refusing to reveal one's identity when asked to do so by university personnel.

The letter said that UC is also developing a framework for consistent implementation of its policies and consistent responses to policy violations.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread at colleges and universities across the United States amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. UC has faced backlash for its handling of campus protests, especially after hundreds were arrested in crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on its campuses across California last school year.

Academic workers at UC voiced readiness for "a long fight" in June after a judge ordered their union to halt its strike over the university's handling of pro-Palestinian protests. The strike by United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4811, representing 48,000 academic workers across the UC system, expanded to six of UC's 10 campuses.