BOSTON – The alma mater of a Massachusetts terror plot suspect has banned students from wearing clothing that obscures the face, including face veils and burqas.
The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services announced the policy weeks after Muslim alumnus Tarek Mehanna — the son of a professor — was charged in October with plotting terror strikes. It went into effect Friday.
School spokesman Michael Ratty says it is unrelated to Mehanna's arrest and was part of an annual review. He says officials want everyone entering the school's Boston campus to be able to be identified.
Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants a religious exemption. He says Muslims who believe they must cover their faces should be allowed to.
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