University College Cork Students’ Union has defended its decision to go ahead with a virtual freshers’ week, despite local residents calling for the event to be cancelled amid fears it will lead to house parties that could spread Covid-19. Interim UCC President, Prof John O’Halloran has also urged the UCC Students’ Union to cancel the virtual freshers’ week, expressing concern that although online, it will lead to students congregating in houses. “We have appealed to your Student Union to cancel or defer virtual freshers’ week; the university cannot support its operation,” said Prof O’Halloran in an email sent to all of the university’s 22,000 students. “Freshers’ week has always been a difficult week for us but when we heard Taoiseach Micheál Martin say last week the figures in Cork were worrying, we became very concerned,” Ms Clancy told The Opinion Line on Cork’s 96FM. “We were told that the students’ union is going to hold something called a virtual freshers’ week but there is no such thing as a virtual freshers’ week as far as we, as residents are concerned, because it will have a real impact on us.

Source: The Irish Times September 28, 2020 19:41 UTC