Leads to £250 fine for student
We were halfway through All I Want for Christmas when security shut us down Student Elliot Hunt
ASTUDENT has been fined £250 after 50 people gathered for a sing-song at a University of Bristol hall of residence.
He says what started with a small student bubble in the Durdham Hall courtyard, on Hollybush Lane, quickly amassed into a 50 people gathering which was immediately shut down by campus security.
The University of Bristol has expressed its disappointment, saying a number of reports of large gatherings and parties across residences over the last two weeks was “disheartening”.
Maths student Elliot Hunt, 18 says he was the only person fined for noise disturbance and covid breach for holding the speaker, after an attempt to raise spirits got out of hand.
He said: “We were halfway through Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas when security shut us down.
“We decided to play some Christmas tunes in the courtyard of our student halls to raise people’s spirits and instill festive love.”
Mr Hunt said he was with his bubble of six, all dressed in Christmas jumpers, and they did not expect a large number of students to pour onto the courtyard at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, December 1.
He said: “People came out of their flats once they heard the music and joined us. It was probably around 40-50 people and it got a bit out of hand - not what we expected.”
The Swansea native said he only wanted to bring some festive happiness to students before they went home for the Christmas break.
He said: “As soon as we saw how it was getting out of hand, and in breach of covid - we tried to stop it.”
Mr Hunt believes the fine was “not warranted” but feels that he and his fellow students cooperated when security pulled the plug.
He maintains that it was not intentional. Mr Hunt has launched a Gofundme page as he felt it was unfair to cover the costs alone. He said: “We weren’t expecting people to donate, we weren’t trying to pressure anyone because we all enjoyed what happened while it lasted.”
He said the reason behind the fundraiser is simply to see who would “chip in” and to his surprise, he managed to raise £230 in just a few days.
Mr Hunt said: “It was a really nice feeling and a really good atmosphere as not much has happened this year.”
A University of Bristol spokesperson said: “Disappointingly there have been a number of reports of large gatherings and parties across our residences over the last two weeks.
“This included a large party at Durdham Hall on December 1 with music playing via loud-speakers that clearly breached government and university guidelines on social distancing.
“A £250 fine was issued to the student considered to have organised the event.
“It goes without saying that organising and attending any parties or gatherings that break Covid regulations is completely unacceptable, particularly as many students who are following the rules tell us they feel unsafe in their own homes due to the irresponsible actions of others.
“This is especially disheartening as it coincides with a great deal of work to mass test students to allow them to safely travel home to their families for the Christmas holidays.
“We are writing to all students in university residences this week to remind them of the consequences of their actions if they continue to disregard government and university rules and regulations around social distancing.
“This includes fines of £100 for attending a party, £250 for organising a party and £800 for repeated breaches. In addition, students’ details could be passed to the police for prosecution. In the most serious cases, students could be suspended or even permanently excluded from the university.”