College investigates large maskless weekend party that was shut down by state police

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    MANSFIELD, Connecticut (WFSB) — A large party over the weekend near the University of Connecticut campus was shut down by the state police.

Troopers said they were called to 160 Birch Rd. around 11:25 Saturday night to investigate a large, loud party.

State police noted that none of the occupants wore face masks or adhered to the state’s COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.

Between 150 and 200 students were forced to exit the residence.

The three renters admitted to hosting the large party and were subsequently issued tickets for violating the governor’s executive order.

In response to the incident, Eleanor JB Daugherty, UConn’s dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs, issued a statement saying:

The University has not yet received information about this incident from the Connecticut State Police, including names of those individuals who were issued the infractions.

Receiving this information will enable the University to determine whether or not those cited are UConn students. If they are, the University will address this incident through the student conduct process.

UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz issued a follow up statement on Monday morning, in which she said any students who received infractions would be subject to the university’s student conduct process.

UConn will use information it receives from the Connecticut State Police, including names of individuals who were issued infractions, to determine whether those involved in the large off-campus gathering late Saturday are University students.

If they are, the University will address this incident through the student conduct process.

The University has become aware at various times of off-campus gatherings during COVID and has acted accordingly when it has received enough specific information to verify the referrals, such as the identity of students along with specific dates, times and locations.

Since conduct records are protected by federal student privacy laws, details of those reviews – including any disciplinary outcomes – are not released.

This might lead some observers to believe that nothing has been done, when in fact UConn acts promptly on referrals with information it can review and confirm.

Many referrals submitted to UConn have not included enough detailed information for the University to pursue through the student conduct process.

In those situations, UConn Community Standards has partnered with various offices to communicate directly with people at specific addresses to underscore the University’s conduct expectations, state health and safety protocols, and other matters.

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