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The students — who also won’t be allowed to attend class remotely this semester — will have the option of returning in the spring.
The 11 individuals were enrolled in a “modified” version of Northeastern’s study-abroad program for first-year students and were rooming at the Westin Hotel, where the university is temporarily leasing rooms to provide more socially distanced housing. According to the press release Friday, 818 students at Northeastern are staying in two-person rooms at the Copley Place hotel.
The gathering Wednesday night was caught and broken up by two Northeastern staff members, who were on-call and making rounds of the Westin, officials said.
A university spokeswoman told The Boston Globe that the 11 dismissed students were neither wearing masks nor social distancing when they were caught; the $36,500 they paid for the semester program also would not be refunded.
“Northeastern and its community of students, faculty, and staff take violations of health and safety protocols very seriously,” Madeleine Estabrook, senior vice chancellor for student affairs at Northeastern, said in a statement. “Cooperation and compliance with public health guidelines is absolutely essential. Those people who do not follow the guidelines—including wearing masks, avoiding parties and other gatherings, practicing healthy distancing, washing your hands, and getting tested—are putting everyone else at risk.