UCC students could be expelled for breaching Covid-19 guidelines
Campus Ucc Denis Picture: Minihane
The interim president of University College Cork has warned students that they could face sanctions, including being expelled from college, if they breach Covid-19 guidelines by organising or attending gatherings in the coming weeks.
In an email to all students, Prof John Halloran made an apparent reference to house parties, stating: "Students found to be organising, hosting, or attending gatherings which are in breach of guidelines will be subject to sanction up to and including expulsion from the university, where warranted".
Prof Halloran also said he had appealed to UCC Students' Union that Virtual Freshers Week be postponed as "the university cannot support its operation".
In the email, he admitted that the campus experience would be altered by Covid-19 restrictions, but said he feared Virtual Freshers Week — which started last night — might "lead to gatherings at a time when our country needs us to minimise our contacts".
"Please do not take actions now that could impact your future," he said.
Catherine Clancy of the Magazine Road and Surrounding Areas Residents Association said she was heartened by a Zoom call last Friday with Prof Halloran, City Council, Students' Union representatives, and gardaí, but was still concerned as to what might unfold.
UCC SU vice president Eimear Curtin said of the possibility of expulsion: "It's one thing to see it in a [student] charter and another thing to see it in practice, and I hope we don't need to.
"Taking someone's opportunity to learn away from them is very, very serious and I don't think it should be taken lightly at all.
"I hope it would only be acted upon in only the most serious cases."