Students and disability advocates say UC mask ban harms disabled students and was used to penalize protesters

Multiple speakers at public comment on July 17 urged the Regents to repeal or clarify the UC system's mask policy for protests, saying it disadvantages disabled students and has been enforced in ways that led to detentions.

A speaker who identified herself as a parent of a UC student said the ban on student masking during protest activity is "an outright violation of the First Amendment" and warned it enables doxxing of student protesters. Lily Grodzens (via public comment) said she was detained at a Regents meeting for wearing an N95 mask and speaking about Palestine; she told the board she was detained under Penal Code 626.6 and said two people detained with her were students of color and that some detained students had not violated the mask rule.

Disabled students said the policy denied them necessary protective equipment and autonomy; Alicia Royce, an undergraduate at UCLA, told Regents disabled students deserve transparency and access to accommodations and said a mask ban "strips them of their autonomy." Jennifer Miyake, a recent disabled UCLA graduate, described how the campus leave and enrollment policies prevented her from taking a medical leave without losing health insurance and urged Regents to allow an undergraduate medical leave of absence policy.

Speakers requested that the Regents clarify mask and accommodation policies, ensure students with disabilities can use medical masks as accommodations, and review how the mask policy has been enforced. The Regents heard the testimony but took no formal action during the July 17 meeting.