BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Northeastern University has dismissed nearly a dozen students for gathering in violation of the university's rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a statement from NU, the 11 first-year students were dismissed after they were discovered together in a room at the four-star Westin Hotel in Boston on Wednesday night.
"The students have been informed that they are no longer part of the Northeastern community for the fall semester," said the University. "They have the right to contest their dismissal at an expedited hearing."
All 11 students were enrolled in the "N.U.in Program," a study-abroad experience for first-year students that had been modified in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to include Boston as one of the locations.
"There are 818 N.U.in students staying in two-person rooms at the Westin, less than one mile from the Boston campus," NU said. "The [11] students and their parents were notified Friday that they must vacate the Westin within 24 hours. Before departing, they were required to undergo COVID-19 testing at Northeastern."
Last week, Madeleine Estabrook, senior vice chancellor for student affairs at Northeastern, wrote a letter to all students stressing the importance of following COVID-19 protocols, including limiting gathering sizes.
“Students who host an unsafe (no masks and without healthy distancing) gathering, social or party, either on or off-campus can expect suspension,” Estabrook wrote. “Students who attend an unsafe gathering, social or party, either on or off-campus, can expect suspension.”
The University said the gathering was discovered Wednesday night by two N.U.in staff members, who were on-call and making rounds of the hotel building. Any payments the dismissed students have made will not be refundable, according to N.U.in Program guidelines.
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