Despite the academic school year coming to a close for many colleges and universities, schools still keep a tight eye on their students to combat COVID-19. Three University of Massachusetts Amherst students learned this the hard way after being suspended for attending an off-campus party without masks.
USA Today cites that the three students were suspended after a picture was discovered of them attending the off-campus gathering without masks on, violating the school’s policy. The three freshmen forfeited their tuition for the academic semester, totaling $16,000 each.
“That negates this whole semester, $16,000 of money and they have to reapply for next semester. But they missed housing registration,” one of the parents told WBZ-TV.
Other parents told CBS Boston that they were outraged and that their children were in good academic standing prior to the suspension.
“These beautiful young ladies who are honors students have had a full academic year stripped away and their paths broken of their higher education for alleged COVID violations,” one of the parents said.
Another cited that the university hosted events that violated their own policies, making them hypocrites for suspending the students.
“The university hosted a parade/event to celebrate the UMass hockey team’s national championship win, violating every single one of violations they accuse these girls of,” the parent said to WCVB-TV. “It also violated a standing executive order by Gov. Charlie Baker that says, ‘no parades, no festivals.’”
The vice-chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life, Brandi Hephner LaBanc, wrote about the violation of school policy in a letter that was posted online.
“All students involved will have their appropriate due process, but under no circumstances will they continue as a university student in the interim,” LaBanc wrote. “The actions of these haughty few are not representative of the larger student population who consistently demonstrate their commitment to public safety. This incident (and others like it) will be dealt with swiftly and effectively so those of you abiding by the rules can enjoy more university privileges.”
