Running on foot, climbing out windows: Some UD students suspended as police break up parties

Some partygoers ran on foot, trying to evade Newark police who were responding to a loud music complaint at a New London Avenue house.

Others climbed out of apartment windows, attempting to escape officers who were answering a separate call about loud music on Lehigh Road.

Though a handful of partygoers eluded Newark and University of Delaware police Thursday night into Friday, more than 60 others were cited after officers broke up three different parties – all of which violated Newark's social gathering limits.

The university said Friday that "multiple" students had been referred to the Office of Student Conduct following the citations, and some students had been suspended. In light of the parties, too, Newark police vowed more patrols over the Halloween weekend.

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Violations of Newark's gathering rules, which limit indoor gatherings to 12 people and are more strict than Gov. John Carney's emergency orders, can result in fines or community service. University of Delaware students who break the rules also face school sanctions.

According to police, officers were called to the New London Avenue home at 11:52 p.m. for the first loud music complaint of the night. Arriving officers found 30 to 40 people inside and outside of the house, some of whom ran when they saw police.

Police cited 18 people at that party, all of whom were released to later appear in Newark Alderman’s Court.

About five minutes after the first call, officers were dispatched to another complaint about loud music coming from an apartment in the 600 block of Lehigh Road. There, police found more than a dozen people inside the apartment.

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Some climbed out windows when they saw officers, police said. Twelve partygoers were cited at that apartment and also released.

Officers were called out for a third loud music complaint at a home on the first block of South Chapel St. just before 1:20 a.m. There, they found "numerous" people inside, citing 33 of them.

They, too, were released.

In addition to the Newark police citations, University of Delaware police referred students who were at the parties to the school for sanctions. Police did not say whether the parties mainly involved students or how many received citations.

On Friday, however, Adam Cantley, the university's dean of students, sent a letter to students about the parties, saying the school is "concerned about some recent off-campus behavior issues that are potentially dangerous."

"We encourage our Blue Hens in the Newark area to remember that student sanctions, including suspension and expulsion, can and have been applied to UD students found responsible for violating the Interim COVID student guidelines," he wrote.

The recent parties are not the first time University of Delaware students have been disciplined for violating Newark's order, but they come at a time when coronavirus cases are spiking across the country.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, 41 states had 10% more new COVID-19 cases this week compared with last. And on Thursday, the U.S. set a record high for the number of new cases: 87,164.

At his weekly coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, Carney reiterated his concern about Delaware's increasing cases, saying it's younger adults who are driving the uptick.

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Per state data, adults ages 18-49 make up the majority of the cases.

"The young adult demographic continues to increase at a rate greater than the other demographics," Carney said. "That’s a group that we want to communicate to ... that they need to be more careful."

On Friday, too, the governor formally extended Delaware's state of emergency for another 30 days "to confront community spread of COVID-19."

He again reminded residents to wear face coverings and avoid large gatherings.

"Let’s not erase the progress we’ve made," he said.

Send story tips or ideas to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_