University hall ‘street party’ leaves quarantining students feeling deflated
A student has expressed his disappointment and frustration after police had to disperse a crowd of youngsters outside a University of Portsmouth hall of residence.
James Hudson-Austin said: “That behaviour gives those of us who are following the restrictions a bad reputation. It’s frustrating.”
Crowds of students gathered outside Margaret Rule Halls on Friday (October 23), before being dispersed by police at around 1am.
A couple of hours later, officers had to disband a group of 40 in the same location.
“Rightfully Suspended”
One student was suspended by the University following the incident. James Hudson-Austin said: “I think the University did the best thing, the student was rightfully suspended.”
He added: “The majority of students are doing what we should and trying hard to keep ourselves and people around us safe, and those who do things like this make all of us look bad.”
The incident comes after an analysis by The Guardian suggested that coronavirus infection rates at universities were up to seven times higher than those in the general population.
There have been 306 new infections in Portsmouth recorded in the past week, and a total of 1,390 positive cases in the city.
