Three students at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) have been suspended after administrators discovered a photo on social media of them partying without masks – even though it was off-campus. The trio was prohibited from attending virtual classes, taking their finals, and have to reapply for the next semester.
“There was a photo sent to the administration of these girls outside off-campus on a Saturday. This is why they lost a whole semester of their schooling,” one of the students’ parents told WBZ-TV, CBS’ Boston affiliate.
The parent added that the three students were barred from taking classes and sitting for their final, meaning they have effectively lost the semester.
“That negates this whole semester, $16,000 of money and they have to reapply for the next semester. But they missed housing registration,” lamented the parent, identified as Scott.
In a statement, the university said that students have been provided with “a number of public health messages this semester that emphasized the importance of following public health protocols and the consequences for not complying, and those messages were also shared on UMass social media channels.”
