University students expelled after campus is vandalised during celebrations

11 June 2023 , 19:10

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Several students have been kicked out by the University of Connecticut after being arrested for vandalising the campus after the school's NCAA men's basketball tournament triumph.

UConn won the fifth championship in its history on April 3, with the Huskies defeating San Diego State to spark wild scenes on campus in Storrs. Sixteen students were taken to hospital for treatment – including one who was knocked out cold by a falling lamp post – and 15 people were arrested, with further arrests being made in the weeks following the chaos.

The people arrested were accused of breaking windows, damaging a police car, flipping a vehicle and vandalising lamp posts, according to The Hartford Courant, with some of them also charged with rioting.

UConn has since confirmed some pupils have been expelled from the university, with other students still being investigated.

“The cases are in various stages,” UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said. “Although we can’t address individual students’ outcomes, we can say that some reviews have concluded with expulsions, while others remain either under investigation or are scheduled for hearings that have not yet occurred.”

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UConn says it will clarify the exact number of students expelled as a result of the incidents later in the summer. The school has already confirmed the majority of the people who were arrested were UConn students, but some did not attend the school.

One person smashes the window of a door on campus

'We'll likely have a better picture later in the summer of the totality of the outcomes,' Reitz added. 'Since students have the opportunity for an appeals process if they disagree with the proposed outcomes, and in those circumstances, the case remains open until that takes place and a final decision is made.'

The Huskies won their first NCAA tournament in nine years, delivering one of the best performances in March Madness history by romping through the bracket and dominating every step of the way.

Their smallest winning margin in the six games in the tournaments was the 13 points that separated UConn and Miami in a 72-59 win in the final four, before seeing off San Diego State by 17 points in the championship game.

A group take down a lamppost on

One man is knocked out by the lamppost falling

However, the triumph at NRG Stadium – the home of NFL franchise the Houston Texans – prompted frenzied scenes on campus, with fires lit and significant damage caused.

UConn president Radenka Maric warned at the time that significant punishments, including expulsions, would follow.

"In addition to facing arrest, any student found to have caused damage to the campus or otherwise violated the student code of conduct will also face university sanctions up to and including expulsion," she said in a letter sent to students across campus.

Sam Frost

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