University Suspends Partying Freshmen For Semester, No Tuition Refund After Social Distancing Violations

The college experience looks different under COVID-19 restrictions, and Northeastern University made it clear that they won’t tolerate partying, no matter the size of the gathering. Eleven freshmen students have been dismissed after they were discovered violating pandemic rules.

The Boston school announced Friday that the students were caught on Wednesday night in their temporary dorm, the Westin Hotel, without masks and not social distancing. On-call staff members discovered the gathering on their rounds.

The students found have been dismissed for the fall semester, but the suspension will end with the start of the spring semester. They will not receive a refund for their tuition, which is estimated to cost more than $36,500, the Boston Globe reports.

The students were all part of the N.U.in Program, which typically allows first-year students to study abroad. This year, due to the pandemic, the students were put into the temporary dorm at the Westin, located about a mile from campus.

The delinquent students are being tested for COVID-19. Those who test negative will go home (presumably to some very angry parents). If they test positive, they’ll have to move into wellness housing until they recover.

“Those people who do not follow the guidelines—including wearing masks, avoiding parties and other gatherings, practicing healthy distancing, washing your hands, and getting tested—are putting everyone else at risk,” Madeleine Estabrook, senior vice chancellor for student affairs at Northeastern, said, according to News @ Northeastern.

“Testing negative for COVID-19 is not enough,” Eastbrook continued. “We must practice all of the public health guidelines in order to keep ourselves and the community healthy. Together, we can keep each other safe, but it will require everyone’s consistent cooperation.”

At least 36 states have reported college students testing positive for coronavirus. More than 8,700 college students have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since returning to campus.

The State University of New York at Oneonta had to shut down in-person classes after over 100 students tested positive for the virus.