As I’ve been reading about the protest at our universities over the war in Gaza, it brings back memories of the last protests we had at all the universities across the nation (“UMD made tough, but right, call on Oct. 7 rally,” Sept. 5).
One thing I noticed is that there were a lot of people wearing scarves or masks to cover their faces which they felt kept them anonymous and gave them the courage to so easily bring violence into the protest because they hid their faces. Wearing a mask gave them the false courage they would not normally have to do the things they would not normally do because they thought they could get away with it.
I think if they want to have any Palestinian protest, or any protests on college campuses, face masks shouldn’t be allowed. That would drastically cut down on the anonymous violence that you see at all these protests because people are wearing masks and think they can carry out violence and disruption without being identified.
If they want to act like violent disruptors at a peaceful protest, let them do it without covering their faces so everybody can see who they are. It’s so easy for them to act in a bad way when they feel nobody can identify them.
Have some real courage and protest without a mask. If you want to get violent, then show your face and do the jail time that comes with it. I think there should be a law that says faces can’t be covered during protests. That will cut down on a lot of the disruption and violence going on in these protests.
— Jeff Rew, Columbia
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