30 minutes into what seemed to be a normal Introduction to Communication lecture on Feb. 12, four students masked in bandanas and donning “Make America Great Again” hats entered the Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall yelling in protest of the presence of immigrants and LGBTQIA+ people on campus.
Four students masked in bandanas and donning MAGA hats entered the class yelling in protest of the presence of immigrants and LGBTQIA+ people on campus. Courtesy of YikYak
The students then performed a mock citizen’s arrest on a student, which prompted another student to stage an altercation, before all four students involved left the building. After the incident was posted on the anonymous social media platform YikYak, it quickly became clear to students that the events were staged.
Professor and Communication Department Chair Tamara Afifi sent an email to all communication undergraduate students later that day stating that the disruption was done by a group of “politically progressive” students trying to engage in anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) and pro-transgender “political theater.”
“They feel really bad about it and clearly did not think through the ramifications,” Afifi’s email read. “That doesn’t make it right or acceptable. This hurt a lot of people who are already suffering right now. Obviously this went horribly wrong and it was a really, really bad idea.”
Throughout the day, students continued to post their thoughts on YikYak, which included captions such as, “if you’re so proud of your stance why wear a mask?” and “i hope they are embarrassed.”
First-year communication major Mia Houng said she was “right next to them” when the students started yelling. She said by the time she saw the four of them run away with each other, “everyone knew this [was] probably a performance that [was] trying to promote activism.”
Houng also heard rumors circulating about the students, with some students recognizing their voices as people in activist spaces.
“It was just kind of shocking. I was just like, out of nowhere, you choose a comm class to convey this message?” Houng said.
Houng said that while she understands the students aimed to promote their activism, which should involve being “outspoken,” she felt that a class disruption wasn’t optimal due to safety concerns.
“I was talking to a few people about this, and … their first [instinct] when someone starts yelling is, ‘Is this something related to a school shooting? Is something about to happen? Are we about to be endangered?’” Houng said.
Another first-year communication major who was present during the disruption, Milla Sgambelluri, said her first thought when the students entered was whether or not they were armed with a weapon.
“At first I was really scared, because there’s been lots of school shootings and just a lot of violence recently,” Sgambelluri said. “I was like, ‘Is this really happening to our class, out of all the classes, out of all the schools, it’s happening right now?’”
According to Afifi’s email, the instructor of the course contacted the UC Police Department, who are currently investigating the incident.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Feb. 19, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
