A college in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu has expelled four of its female students for consuming alcohol along with their male friends during a party at one of their houses. The said party took place around six weeks ago. However, the expulsion came after a video of them consuming beer started circulating on social media platforms and caught the attention of the college management on December 24. According to reports, the group of students were celebrating the birthday of one of the girls at her residence in a village, which is around 10 kms from the college in Mayiladuthurai.
In the video, three students are seen in their college uniforms, while one is seen in a casual outfit. While one male friend is seen seated among them, the other boy is the one reportedly recording the video. The video, apparently shot and released without their consent, was uploaded on multiple pages on Facebook and started doing the rounds on WhatsApp. As expected, people criticised the women, with many even questioning their morality. However, there has been no discussion on who shot a video without consent and distributed it. According to sources, the young man seen drinking with the women was not a student of this college, and the video was shot by a family member of one of the girls. A Facebook user uploaded the video and titled it, "The state of women".
Though the legal age for drinking alcohol in Tamil Nadu is 21 years, it is not uncommon for adults younger than the legal age to drink. In this case, the college seems to have been under extreme pressure to take action against the young women, with the video going viral and social media users rebuking the college.
According to the Times of India, one student is a second-year English literature student, while the others are doing their degree in Business Administration.
Soon after the video surfaced, the college principal called a meeting on December 26, when the administration decided to conduct an inquiry with the girls and their parents, and then take necessary disciplinary action.
According to the circular issued by the college, the four students were expelled for “behaving in a manner that would bring disrepute to college”. Their expulsion will come into effect on January 2, 2020.
In an interview to TOI, the principal of the Dharmapuram Adhinam Arts college, said that the college which is run by a mutt, followed certain rules and regulations that are meant to instil values in students and help them in their life. According to the report, the principal said that the students organised the party without the knowledge of the parents. “Though it did not happen on the campus, anybody can make out that the girls are from our college from their uniform,” the principal said.
The principal also said that if the students are let off without severe punishment, it would set a bad precedent for other students. It is also important to note that the college has chosen to expel these students, rather than impose a fine on them, or even suspend them.
According to reports, Bharathidasan University registrar G Gopinath said that the university can intervene only if students approach the Vice-Chancellor and seek an internal inquiry.
In a similar incident in 2015, videos of children being prodded to drink alcohol had gone viral on social media. Though the Tiruvannamalai police had nabbed the persons seen in the video, PMK and DMK expressed their concerns over the incident and demanded alcohol prohibition in the state.