Montclair State University administration suspended 11 students from on-campus housing on Aug. 23 after they gathered in large groups to party without masks and social distancing.
The students are in violation of Montclair State’s COVID-19 rules, which were released before the semester to ensure a safe return to campus.
Other consequences the students face include referral to Director of Student Conduct Jerry Collins and deregistration from any courses or programs with an on-campus component. Organizations that violate the guidelines will be suspended for the rest of the year or permanently.
While the incident is still being investigated, Vice President for Student Development and Campus Life Karen Pennington says there is evidence that campus organizations were involved.
“We have information that indicates one or more organizations held events this past weekend,” Pennington said.
Pennington hopes that this incident will encourage students to take greater responsibility for themselves and others.
“We cannot prevent this from happening,” Pennington said. “All we can do is continue to educate students about the risks involved and appeal to their common sense, good judgment and sense of responsibility for themselves and others.”
Many students thought that these 11 students were acting irresponsibly and were glad to hear that the university took quick action to help keep the Montclair State community safe.
Bryanna Rosario, a sophomore English major, worries that the actions of some students may ruin the semester for the entire student body.
“Irresponsible actions lead to consequences that they need to face. This is the real world and a pandemic we’re living in, this isn’t a joke,” Rosario said. “Don’t go out and risk it and ruin the semester for yourself and others. Start thinking.”
Carmen Dibellia, a senior history major, normally lives on campus but decided not to this semester in order to reduce his risk of contracting COVID-19. It angers him to see students disregarding the health and safety of others.
“As a student who isn’t even living on campus because I’m afraid of getting sick, I’m actually sick over the fact that these students are on campus partying when [there] are kids that want to be there doing that too, but we can’t because of not wanting to get sick or making anyone else sick,” Dibellia said.
Any student who sees COVID-19 policy violations can report them using the RAVE Guardian App.
