Social distancing “ignored” at Exeter Uni event

Students at Exeter University have expressed concerns over a lack of social distancing at an outdoor cinema event.

Photos taken of the event, held on Saturday 19 September, showed hundreds of students gathering outside flats in the city and ignoring social distancing rules.

The university says that social distancing was maintained throughout the event, which officially took place in a site on the campus, but it has since cancelled similar events.

ITV News quoted a student, who said: “Initially there were only two campus patrol people there and they were just walking on the outside of the huddle of people.

“It didn’t seem as though there was any effort to break up the group. More and more people started arriving even though the campus patrol were there.

“I can understand why students are meeting outside in such big groups. I think we are all desperate to meet new people, make friends and have a freshers week which is at least similar to previous years.

“The campus patrol do not seem to have the authority to break up groups which encourages people to join.

“It is frustrating as all of our lectures are online and many of the clubs and societies cannot go ahead and yet people are mixing in huge numbers and nothing is being done about it.”

I can understand why students are meeting outside in such big groups. I think we are all desperate to meet new people, make friends and have a freshers week which is at least similar to previous years

– Exeter University Student 

Last week, there were reports of nightly mass parties at Exeter of approximately 300-400 students.

One student shared a WhatsApp group chat, with claims that each night will be “bigger and better”.

She said: “None of them are wearing masks and social distancing isn’t happening. They were being quite stubborn and refused to go back into their rooms for quite a long time.

“I have parents with underlying health problems and family in Devon and know that the RD&E is overstretched enough.

“None of them seem to care about giving the virus to each other or to local people in the community.

“They are also sharing on the group chat about how to sneak in to Wetherspoons and avoid the Track and Trace.”

An Exeter spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, some of our student did not socially distance as required at an outdoor cinema event on Saturday night.

“We apologise to any students who were following the Covid-19 rules and anyone who was concerned by the lack of social distancing.

“We are trying to find the right balance between supporting student activities and the government guidance on Covid-19 but we will always prioritise the safety of our community.”