Editor’s note: This article includes accounts of student disciplinary actions previously reported on March 24th.
Patrick Deane, principal of Queen’s University, said some students living in residence were evicted for not complying with COVID-19 guidelines.
Since the pandemic began, the university has accounted for just under a quarter of all COVID-19 cases in the city.
The school also went through two significant outbreaks recently, one of which began in Watts Hall student residence. There were 176 cases of COVID-19 linked to the school between March 8 and April 11.
Queen’s previously said about 40 students were going through disciplinary processes for non-compliance with COVID-19 rules, and Deane reiterated Wednesday that a “significant amount” of students have been kicked out of residence for their actions in March “where cases have been particularly egregious.”
“We’ve learned that the disciplinary code of the institution has a role to play in partnership with the civil authorities,” Deane said.
Deane said the school worked closely with the city to identify students who broke COVID-19 regulations.
He said of the students who are currently going through the school’s disciplinary process, there are some appeals.
“Any kind of disciplinary process in the university is not a matter of summarily dispensing punishment. There is a process and there are appeals and so on that have to be gone through,” Deane said.
Deane did emphasize that for the most part, Queen’s students worked hard to follow COVID-19 guidelines.
“It’s regrettable that in some cases some students did not,” he said.