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VIDEO: Masked Protesters at Columbia Rally Against New Mask Restrictions

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by

David
in


VIDEO: Masked Protesters at Columbia Rally Against New Mask Restrictions
Columbia protests

The protesters marched unimpeded without being asked to identify themselves as Columbia president downplays mask ban to angry faculty members.

By Jessica Costescu and Jessica Schwalb, The Washington Free Beacon

Dozens of Columbia University student activists donned masks Monday to protest the Ivy League school’s policy reforms, which include new restrictions on mask-wearing during protests.

Student Workers of Columbia, the university’s graduate student union, organized the picket “to protest Columbia’s newest repressive policies” and handed out masks to protesters. Columbia’s Palestine Solidarity Coalition, meanwhile, called on students to “wear a mask on Monday to protest mask bans and the fascist trustees.” The group appeared to poke fun at the new policy, which allows face masks for “medical reasons.”

“WEAR A MASK. PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR COMMUNITY,” it wrote in an Instagram post. “We call on everyone to wear masks on campus. We recommend wearing a KN95, KF-94, or N95 mask for the most protection. We refuse to be intimidated.”

While the campus protest remained relatively tame, it calls into question the school’s ability to enforce its new rules—imposed three days earlier in a bid to begin negotiations with the Trump administration to restore more than $430 million in federal funds—during unruly demonstrations. Those rules include a ban on masks used to conceal one’s identity—anyone wearing a face covering must present their ID when asked by a school security official.

Footage from Monday’s demonstration, however, showed masked protesters marching unimpeded without being asked to identify themselves. Asked about the protest, a Columbia spokeswoman told the Washington Free Beacon that “University Delegates and public safety are monitoring for violations of our policy, and any violations will be met with consequences.”

The protest came in the wake of a weekend meeting, detailed in a Monday night Wall Street Journal report, between Columbia interim president Katrina Armstrong and a group of angry faculty members. At the meeting, Armstrong downplayed the mask policy, saying there was “no mask ban.” A Trump administration statement issued Monday said Columbia had agreed to “a strict anti-masking policy that includes appropriate enforcement mechanisms for violations.”

The masked activists held signs and chanted, “No justice, no peace, no campus police,” with some banging on plastic buckets. Columbia’s Palestine Solidarity Coalition previously helped organize protests in support of Columbia University Apartheid Divest—the school’s most notorious anti-Semitic student group.

“Our demands are clear: protect international student workers, restore slashed funding, reinstate all student workers disciplined for Pro-Palestine activism and speech,” the student union wrote on Instagram Sunday.

Activists also hoisted a banner that read “Free Mahmoud, Free Palestine” on a campus building.

Dozens more anti-Israel activists protested outside the campus gates, banging on drums and chanting, “It is right to rebel, Columbia go to hell.” Amid the demonstrators, Columbia’s graduate student union set up a table distributing flyers that read “Free Mahmoud Khalil.” Anti-Israel  activists and groups have rallied to the defense of Khalil—a former union member—since federal immigration authorities arrested him for leading “activities aligned to Hamas.”