Did a University Use Facial Recognition to ID Students?

In late September, Mars Fernandez-Burgos, a doctoral student in counseling psychology at the University of Miami, received a one-line email from the assistant to the school's dean of students. She and eight others were asked to attend a Zoom meeting to discuss the "incident that happened on September 4." Fernandez-Burgos is a member of the University of Miami Employee Student Alliance (UMESA). Weeks earlier, she attended a campus protest around Covid protections and sick pay for contract workers like cafeteria workers and janitors. Afterward, university officials had ignored the student's group's attempts for a meeting. She didn't understand why the dean was reaching out now. "I believe this discussion necessary to understand policies around use of university space," wrote dean of students Ryan Holmes.