THERE will be a ban on visitors and parties at UCC owned accommodation when students return to college next week, and students who fail to abide by current public health guidelines around gatherings could find themselves facing repercussions.

While UCC has remained open over the past few months, many students will return to campus next week for the first time since March.

Ahead of their return, UCC has published a new Community Charter, which forms part of student and staff return to campus induction. 

The Charter states that members of the UCC community will abide by all current public health guidelines in relation to indoor and outdoor gatherings, including house parties.

In recent months, residents have voiced concerns over house parties taking place in the vicinity of the college and speaking to The Echo, John O’Halloran, Interim President of UCC said that parties are currently a problem in society.

“We’re going to have to work through this with all our students and our staff to make sure people behave in a way that's acceptable socially,' he said. 

Mr O’Halloran admitted that while it will be “trickier” to manage when students are off campus but said that in UCC accommodation no visitors and no parties will be allowed. 

The UCC President said that while he believed the vast majority of students will take the guidance seriously, “a small number may not comply and we will deal with those through the student rules.” 

“There are student rules, we have Campus Watch, a process where we investigate and we make a determination and we either execute fines or they meet with the academic leadership or they may meet with me- there's a tiered response to whatever happens and UCC will take it very seriously," he said. 

A decision has also been made to not permit alcohol at any event on campus, however the College bar will remain open. “Our sense is it’s a very controlled environment,” Mr O’Halloran said.

UCC has also put a dedicated Covid-19 Safety Support Team in place which will assist students and staff on campus and it is engaging in a joint social media campaign with its Student Union to encourage adherence to national health guidelines throughout the term.