LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After the Lexington Police Department said it responded to noise disturbance calls at about a dozen locations around the University of Kentucky's campus over the weekend, UK officials made it a point to remind students that hosting house parties during the pandemic puts them in violation of UK's code of conduct.
UK spokesman Jay Blanton said he expects students to adjust to the new rules, but if not, the university has a range of disciplinary actions that can be taken.
"That can go all the way to things like suspension and expulsion," he said. "But we're going to start with that education and awareness piece because we're confident our students are going to want to do the right thing."
LPD Public Information Officer Brenna Angel said six citations were issued over the weekend for violating the city's noise ordinance, but couldn't say whether all were given to UK students.
Blanton said that the university is making it a priority to address the issue early on.
"We anticipated it," Blanton said. "We know it's the kind of thing that's going to happen early, but we also know it's the kind of thing we need to jump on early in order to communicate with our students and have that education and awareness process."
Courtney Wheeler, UK’s student body president, said she was disappointed to hear about the parties hosted by fellow students.
"You gotta weigh the risk, and to me, going and partying off-campus is not the risk (to take) right now,” she said. “It might seem easy and it might seem like nobody had symptoms or nobody was sick, but you never know. One person could be in there that caught it at Kroger, Walmart or somewhere else when they were coming to Lexington, and they could spread the virus to hundreds of people, so it’s important to wear your mask and stay physically distant."
