UNC students are reporting alleged COVID violations on Instagram. Officials take notice
UNC-Chapel Hill officials are working to authenticate videos that allegedly show students partying off campus this semester in defiance of COVID-19 security rules.
Students could face disciplinary action for violating policies, as some were last fall, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz told reporters Thursday.
The university is aware of videos from an Instagram account called “whereyallgoin_unc” and Chapel Hill and campus police are verifying that they were taken in local residences, Guskiewicz said at a media briefing following the UNC-CH Board of Trustees meeting.
Guskiewicz, the university and UNC student affairs have recently been tagged in the comments of the account, which is posting Snapchat stories and videos of people playing beer pong, drinking Ciroc vodka on a party bus, singing “Sweet Caroline” at a party and dancing to Pitbull in a crowded room with neon lights flashing on the ceiling.
“Just wondering where you are going during this pandemic,” the account’s bio simply states.
A similar account has been created at NC State with one post as of Friday afternoon.
Citations already this semester
Posts call out individuals who are spotted in the videos in an attempt to report them to the university for COVID-19 violations. People are commenting on the posts asking that students who break the rules be suspended.
Guskiewicz didn’t mention this account directly when speaking to reporters, but he said a number of students have already been cited this semester and are going through the judicial process.
UNC students can be disenrolled for the semester if they are found responsible for violating university policies like not wearing face masks or attending large social gatherings.
“[Police] been working hard to try to uncover this and try to deter this activity,” Guskiewicz said. “It’s a lot about communication, continuing to emphasize the importance of this.”
Last fall, UNC received more than 450 reports of students breaking COVID-19 rules. About 50 students were kicked out of campus housing for breaking the rules. Guskiewicz said Thursday that some were disenrolled last semester.
The photos and videos posted on this account are reminiscent of the viral video of about 50 young women filing out of a small house a few blocks from UNC’s campus before classes started last August. College students and the university were criticized over the summer for off-campus behavior that worried faculty, local officials and community members.
‘Punish violations accordingly’
The Instagram account posted its first photo in mid-August and shared others throughout the fall of parties outside fraternity houses, female students getting into a party bus, and male students at a house party with one drinking Busch Light in a Carolina blue polo.
Now, that students have moved back to town for the spring semester the account is back asking for DMs of videos that can be shared anonymously. It also has a link in its bio for people to report student conduct violations.
“Was getting covid really worth dancing to pitbull,” one comment said on a video posted earlier this week.
Another comment reads: “I pity the people who have made partying so integral to their personality/life that they’ll risk anything, even the lives and comfort of others, for nights of temporary joy and happiness.”
In a reply to a comment, the account said its purpose is for the UNC administration “to punish violations accordingly” and keep it a “UNC disciplinary issue.”
Guskiewicz said the university learned a lot from last semester, and the student affairs office is working with organizations on campus, including Greek Life, to reinforce the importance of following COVID-19 community standards.
Campus and local police are also patrolling off-campus neighborhoods, particularly in the evenings and on weekends, to enforce university rules and statewide mandates regarding social gatherings and curfews.
“We’re trying to use all the resources we have to try to keep the campus community and surrounding Chapel Hill-Carrboro community safe,” Guskiewicz said.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 6:34 PM with the headline "UNC students are reporting alleged COVID violations on Instagram. Officials take notice."
