Cov Uni threatens ‘appropriate action’ after huge 200 person party in halls common room

Coventry University has said they will be taking “appropriate action” against Cov students after “200 students” gathered to party in the common room of Arundel House halls, breaking a ping pong table in the process.

A video, which can be seen on The Coventry Tab Instagram story, shows the crowd gathered in the brightly lit halls common room with around ten students crowded onto a ping pong table, all of them chanting the lyrics to Woi by Digga D.

The students can be seen jumping on the table and chanting “Who’s that my man, jump up fry man” until the table eventually collapses beneath them and screams can be heard. This comes just after news that Coventry University has five cases within its student body, with students on and off-campus testing positive for COVID-19.

The halls, located on Whitefriars Lane in Coventry, is owned by Nido Student Living and has a starting price of £6,579 for the year. It has a spacious common room which boasts “a TV lounge, pool table, foosball table and plenty of comfy seating”.

Coventry students who have seen the video are not surprised at all, telling The Coventry Tab: “It’s not like things like this haven’t happened before – like there’s been rumours of underground boxing matches and shit lol. It’s classic Cov. But I suppose now with corona restrictions and 10pm curfew students don’t have a chance here unless they mix within halls.” This might have taking mixing to a new level though, with Cov Uni promising to take “appropriate action” if they discover anyone in the video is a Cov student.

A Coventry University spokesperson told The Coventry Tab: “We are aware of an incident in a private accommodation block which was captured in a video that has been shared online.  

“We are deeply concerned by the scenes in the video and strongly condemn the blatant breaches of the rule of six and other guidelines as they risk the health of our students, colleagues and the communities in which we are located.  

“We have introduced a code of conduct for students and shared this widely with them ahead of the weekend. This code of conduct makes it clear that a failure to follow university and Government health, safety and wellbeing requirements will constitute a breach of the university’s disciplinary regulations and may be dealt with as a matter of misconduct. If any of those involved in the video are found to be students of Coventry University and in breach of the code of conduct, we will take appropriate action.

“The vast majority of our students are sensible adults and are taking coronavirus very seriously. Many of them are from the communities in which our campuses are based and want to protect themselves, their friends and loved ones. Hundreds of our students on health courses worked in NHS wards and ambulances during the peak of the pandemic.  

“Across our five campuses, we have put in place safety measures in line with government advice and we are in constant dialogue with local public health officials and other agencies and universities. We are regularly messaging our colleagues and students to reinforce the importance of following all the rules and laws designed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and we have student ambassadors in key places on campus to remind those who forget to comply with social distancing or face coverings. We are also actively encouraging the use of the NHS COVID-19 app to assist our existing track and trace process.”  

A Nido Student Living spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a large social gathering in our residence in Coventry last night. Steps were immediately taken to deal with the gathering, including calling the police for assistance. The police were unfortunately unable to attend at the time. We understand that they are under a lot of strain due to the number of similar incidents, both in Coventry and nationally.

“We are in close contact with FutureLets at Coventry University and are assisting the local authorities with their investigation. In line with government advice, we are reinforcing our zero-tolerance policy to different households mixing and have put in place stringent Covid-19 related measures, including the installation of Perspex screens at reception and hand sanitiser stations throughout the building, the posting of social distancing guidance and measures, ensuring PPE is worn by all staff outside of the office and providing residents with regular updates on the latest government guidance.

“We have also now restricted all visitors to the building, closed communal areas, and have stepped up security across our residences to oversee these policies. We do not want the actions of a few to affect the experience of many.

“Our first priority is always the safety of our residents and we will continue doing everything possible to protect their health and wellbeing.”

This article was amended to change the number of students at the party from 50 to 200. The Tab Coventry originally reported a figure of 50 students at the party based on video footage. It was later stated by West Midlands Police that around “200 students” were in attendance.