Three freshmen women have been suspended after allegedly being pictured partying without masks at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, according to reports.
The photo, which was taken in March while the university was on lockdown due to a surge in cases, circulated throughout social media, the Washington Post reported.
Starting in February, students had to stay in their homes or dorms except for meals. After the three students were pictured breaking the rules, one student shared it with school officials. In addition to getting suspended, those freshmen lost their on campus housing.
Parents said they plan to challenge the school's decision. UMass Amherst would not comment on any individual case, but school officials said more than 10 students were suspended for going to gatherings the weekend of March 6.
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That's the same weekend university police broke up a party of around 200 students. Anyone who was caught breaking the rules couldn't be a student, according to university officials. That means in-state students could lose more than $16,000 in tuition.
School officials said that students were not suspended exclusively for breaching mask rules.
"Of the more than 1,000 cases educated in the spring, no student was suspended for merely not wearing a mask," officials said.
