WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — 36 students at Purdue University have been suspended for partying and violating the Protect Purdue Pledge, according to a university spokesperson.
Purdue confirmed the Circle Pines Cooperative and attendees of an August 19-20 event at its house received summary suspensions.
The Board of Trustees adopted the pledge in May. Protect Myself, Protect Others, and Protect Our Purdue Community are the three pillars of the school’s preventative coronavirus messaging.
School officials said under our conduct procedures, the organization and the students may appeal the interim suspension.
Purdue said the ultimate sanctioning decision will be made later after a full hearing process, and the university will move to expedite the process.
Dr. Katie Sermersheim, Associate Vice Provost & Dean of Students said the following in a statement:
Purdue University has been clear and consistent with our messaging to students about the Protect Purdue Plan and the expectations they would need to follow if they made the decision to be on campus this fall. Unfortunately, everything we have done – the months of planning to give our students the opportunity to continue their educational pursuits in person – can be undone in the blink of an eye – with just one party or event that does not follow the rules and guidelines.
We will continue to call upon our entire university community – faculty, staff, and students – to honor and embrace all aspects of the Protect Purdue plan in order to help us all meet our collective health responsibilities. We are social creatures and yearn for human interactions and engagement with one another – no one is denying that. We are just asking that we put on hold large gatherings in confined spaces until this global pandemic can be better understood and controlled. Until such time, students must find lower risk activities in which to connect with one another or run the risk of a code violation.
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