Northeastern University kicks out 11 students for coronavirus violations but keeps their $36,500 fee
Eleven first-year students at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts have been kicked off their courses for violating coronavirus policies - with the university refusing to refund their $36,500 (£27,500) fee for the semester's tuition.
The students were found on Wednesday crowding into a room at a Boston hotel which is serving as a temporary dormitory for 800 students in two-person rooms.
University rules forbid any “guests, visitors or additional occupants” in the room, and the students were not wearing face masks - another violation of the policy, said Renata Nyul, spokesman for the university.
The Northeastern students have the right to contest the action in an “expedited hearing,” the university said.
The harsh punishment comes as universities around the United States struggle with surging cases of Covid-19, as some students return for their autumn terms.
Many universities have reported a spike in confirmed cases, and The New York Times has counted at least 51,000 cases in universities and colleges since the start of the pandemic.
Last week Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, sent a "SWAT team" of rapid testers and contact tracers to upstate New York, after the State Universities of New York (SUNY)'s Oneonta campus found 100 people infected after a series of parties.
On Thursday SUNY chancellor Jim Malatras announced that all classes would be online-only after the infection spread.
Online learning had already been ordered for two weeks, beginning on August 31. The numbers have nearly quadrupled since that time.
The University of Alabama has 1,367 cases and is the hardest-hit, followed by the University of South Carolina with 1,092 cases, according to the New York Times database.
As cases mounted on campus, Iowa State scrapped plans to allow 25,000 fans to attend their first home American Football game.
Purdue University suspended 36 students after a cooperative house was caught partying less than 24 hours after the university president outlawed off-campus parties.
At the University of Connecticut, several students were evicted from campus housing over a mask-free dorm party.
