It was a gorgeous August weekend in New York City, and Andy – a college senior at New York University (NYU) – decided to attend a rooftop social gathering with his roommates.
The party was consistent with New York City’s Phase 4 COVID-19 guidelines, which allow events of up to 50 people. Many attendees went mask-less, but Andy says he didn’t stand in close proximity to anyone other than his roommates—who are also students—and they left after a short while.
But unbeknownst to Andy – whose name has been changed for this article to protect his privacy – someone at the party posted a video of the event on social media. Andy never saw this video, but he knows that he was visible in it. The video was reported to NYU administrators via the university’s COVID-19 compliance system. On Sunday, August 23—a day after the party—NYU Director of Student Conduct Craig Jolley sent an email to Andy accusing him of “threatening the health and safety of the NYU Community.”
By 5:00 p.m. on Monday, NYU had suspended him indefinitely:
To return to campus in 2021, Andy will need to write a reflection paper and beg for readmission.
Resuming his education might be impossible, anyway, since he relies on a full-tuition scholarship that is now threatened by his disciplinary status.
Andy thinks NYU treated him unfairly. It’s hard to disagree. Importantly, he didn’t actually put anyone on campus in danger, because he had no plans to set foot on NYU property: He lives off campus, and all his classes were online. – READ MORE
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