Students thrown off course for throwing a party.

[Cotbedy]

Basically, a load of students held a party of around 16/17 people. They got reported, they all got a £400 fine, apart from the host who got a £10,000 fine.

Then their Uni kicked them all off their courses for bringing the Uni into disrepute.

I think this is probably a fair and reasonable punishment, but DP thinks the Uni have gone too far and they're being unfair.

I'm curious to hear others' thoughts on the matter! Fair or unreasonable?

Obviously unreasonable.

I actually think it’s harsh. I’m a lecturer. If I threw a party and got caught I’d expect a fine but not to lose my job. I’m sure it’s in their contract, etc which they’ve signed and I’m guessing is stricter than employment law.

@Cotbedy

My own dd is at Uni and following the rules rigidly. Lots of her friends aren't though.

How likely is she to tell you if she breaks a law?

Was that the one in last month? The weekend the new lockdown fines came into force? The one they threw because they were bored, the one that wasn't worth £10K and how am I supposed to pay that anyway, I'm only 20? The one were one of the attendees was arrested for assaulting a police officer, due in court on April Fools day?

They were very well warned. Codes of Conduct had been updated, it's very explicit.

They may well be able to start again this September, universities often allow that. Fee refunds may not be possibe as they had already had a term of teaching, places had been taken by them. But again, the university, may, at its own discretion come ot an arrrangement for refunds or carrying over fees.

A bloody harsh lesson though!

If its the ones in the article posted then can see why it's led to this...especially if already warned once before...

I think it’s unfair. University students have really had the short end of the stick in the last year. Paying full tuition and accomodation fees for zoom classes they can have at their parents home and limited tutor support. Their first time uni experience has been taken from there because of lockdown. The pandemic has taken a huge toll on everyone, including students. I don’t blame them for wanting social contact if they’re isolated in their rooms all day every day. They should’ve been fined and a warning from the university that if they were caught again they were out. Many of us had it good with free or cheaper tuition at a time when employment prospects were good and we didn’t envision a future full of debt. Can you all say you were model students at that age?

Some teens seem so shocked when rules are actually followed through. I used to host foreign teens the majority were lovely but one group I could immediately tell were trouble asked if they could smoke. I said no of course. They smoked anyway 😮 in my house. So I rang the language school and they were evicted that day. They just could not believe it! Their faces! I don’t think their parents had ever enforced a rule. Was quite funny especially as the alternative house was quite shit and a long way out of town 😁. Good lesson

My son got a fixed penalty for driving through a bus only gap. He was a bit lost and realised as soon as he turned but would have been dangerous to try to stop and back out onto a busy main road.

Should he be chucked off his uni course?

Which uni? Would suggest they may be persistent offenders and exhausted in house warnings.

It sounds like a classic case of a punishment meted out 'pour encourager les autres' as Voltaire would put it. The young people concerned are having their behaviour and attendant punishment highlighted publicly to dissuade others from behaving in the same way. That makes me feel uneasy. I think a fine and a warning would have been sufficient.

Well done to that university, those students got exactly what they deserved.

@Downthefarm

Also , how clear are universities about rules and consequences, other than course specific consequences eg for doctors some other professions. I'm willing to bet not very, even in a good year, and probably not at all this year, other than including it in the reams of paperwork sent from all directions in week 1- and all by email. Actually, although the students were stupid to do this, 18 year olds often are, and this year they've had an awful time at university.

Most of the rules are given more than once. The Student Handbooks are really comprehensive, have been for decades. They get another reminder in Halls and those who live out where the landlords work with the Uni will also get another copy of the Handbook, hard copy of relevant pages or link, in their welcome pack as standard practice.

I usually see a copy of conduct rules on hallway noticeboards and another in the welcome pack with a link to the full document - even with the worst of the student landlords I deal with. Then again, when it all goes wrong I usually get told by shocked parents that their son/daughter had no idea, nobody had told them etc!

@RedRiverShore

These threads are always started by name changers that have a friend of a friend in the police, army, front line NHS or the Cabinet

What are "these threads"?

In any organisation, when you sign up to participate in it, you also agree to abide by the rules and expectations that organisation has. If you choose to ignore those rules, you have to accept the consequences. The first time, a fine might well be a sufficient lesson.

If you fail to follow the rules twice, you are even more culpable and deserve a harsher sanction. To say that the lives of those students is blighted if they don’t stay at university is surely wrong. Lots of people manage their lives perfectly well, without a university education and have successful lives and careers.

If it's a consequence they've been warned of it's absolutely reasonable.

So they've been punished twice?

I've name changed.

Why?

People who break the rules aren't losing their jobs as well as being fined. Young people have made huge sacrifices for something that is unlikely to affect them seriously, and now they're being kicked out of uni for making an admittedly stupid mistake. Is the Scottish politician Covid Margaret still hanging on on full pay?

When you think of how many groups of different families are meeting outside, having picnics etc.. (the weather is better)
let alone at home

it is far too harsh for the students. Adults should be punished too then!

Bonkers. Young people are at zero risk of being sick from Covid. They’ve been punished, the university are sanctimonious bullies.

@rawalpindithelabrador

Fucking ridiculous how many have lost the plot and bay for blood over a virus that 97% of people survive.

Do you know more than 100 people? You probably know at least 2-300 in various degrees of relationship - which 6-9 of those would you like to die in a very unpleasant manner? And which further 10-15 would you like to see having "long covid" of over 3 months possibly affecting them for life (assuming that only 50% of the population catch covid)?

3% = 300 people per 100,000. Flu deaths (the example most people seem to compare to covid) are approximately 1.8 per 100,000 people.

Really harsh. Total overreaction.

My daughter lives in a student area of our city. We had to drop the grandchildren back to her house last Sunday, early evening. On her street it was like the students had just left a gig and were on their way home. Loads of them in large groups of up to 14 or so with no social distancing and no attempt to keep out of our way either. We had to walk on a busy road with 2 small children. We were not impressed.

Honestly I don’t think it’s fair. I think we all hope our kids follow the rules but we can also imagine with a bit of peer pressure rhey may make a stupid mistake and attend something like this. Ruining their futures is too much of a punishment for me.

Why will the OP not tell us which university it is ?