UNC officials say the university has received more than 300 referrals for COVID-19 health and safety violations following the incident on Saturday where hundreds of students rushed Franklin Street to celebrate a basketball win over Duke.
“Every referral is reviewed to assess whether the reported action, if verifiable, represents a violation of the COVID-19 Community Standards,” said Amy Johnson, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, in a release Monday. “Because of the volume of referrals, we expect the review process to take some time.”
On Saturday, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said the university will “investigate this incident and work with local authorities to pursue consequences.”
If students are found responsible for violating the COVID-19 Community Standards, consequences could range from a warning, to facility access restrictions, loss of campus privileges, removal from housing or disenrollment, depending upon the severity of the violation.
UNC required students to sign an acknowledgement of the COVID-19 Community Standards upon their enrollment – which includes wearing a mask, remaining six feet apart and complying with local and state gathering limits.
Following Saturday’ game, videos of students gathering on Franklin Street quickly spread on social media – most showing violations of social distancing, mask or gathering-limit guidelines.
As could’ve been expected, students did not heed North Carolina’s plea to NOT rush Franklin Street pending a Tar Heels victory versus the Blue Devils tonight.
Mattress set afire? Yes!
“F Duke,” & “Tar Heels,” chants? Yes!
Masks? Mostly actually, yes!
Social distancing? Uhm. pic.twitter.com/BpiTOy7EB0— Marilyn Payne (@marilyn_payne) February 7, 2021
Johnson said the university does not monitor social media accounts for COVID-19 violations, but that community members should contact local authorities.
“We encourage our community to call the police immediately (callers may choose to remain anonymous) if they witness activities that are not in compliance with the COVID-19 Community Standards, as incidents are more challenging to investigate after they occur, or refer behavior to Student Conduct.”
Last week, UNC shared nine students were removed from on-campus housing amid complaints they violated COVID-19 safety protocols between November 1 and January 31. The university also said that 60 cases for community standard violations were still pending resolutions.
Guskiewicz previously addressed videos circulating on social media depicting some students hosting large, non-socially distanced gatherings. Guskiewicz said those who are caught breaking community and campus standards have the potential to be disenrolled.
“There are a number of students that have already been cited who are going through the judicial process here and potentially will be disenrolled,” Guskiewicz said. “We disenrolled students last semester and so we’re using all the resources we have to try to keep the campus community and the surrounding Chapel Hill-Carrboro community safe.”
Other punishments to students who violate community health standards include written warnings, probation and restriction of campus resources.
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