Bristol Uni fines fresher who ‘accidentally’ had 50 people round to sing Mariah Carey

A Bristol Uni student has successfully paid off a £250 fine through a GoFundMe page, after a festive sing along to Mariah Carey in Durdham Hall courtyard caused a crowd of 50 people to gather.

The unintentional gathering got shut down by North Village security and 18-year-old student Elliot Hunt, from Swansea, was identified as the ring leader.

Elliot claims he only invited six friends within his bubble to the courtyard in order to raise the spirits of those in halls, but it turned into a large sing along to the Christmas classic “All I want for Christmas is you”.

The fundraiser description says: “As the clock struck midnight on December 1st, we decided to play some Christmas tunes in the courtyard of our student halls to raise peoples spirits and instill the festive love.

“However, after a short but sweet 10 minutes of utter tune-age, security rudely interrupted and fined me a substantial sum of £250.

“I am asking you, the people, to kindly donate in order to help pay this off. Any amount would be hugely appreciated, from one poor student to another.”

This isn’t the first festive gathering in Stoke Bishop, with the uni reporting they are “disheartened” by many other reports of parties. Before the start of the second lockdown, students at Wills Hall also set off a series of particularly chaotic firework displays in Wills courtyard.

A spokesperson for the University of Bristol said: “Disappointingly there have been a number of reports of large gatherings and parties across our residences over the last two weeks.

“This included a large party at Durdham Hall on December 1 with music playing via loud-speakers that clearly breached Government and University guidelines on social distancing. A £250 fine was issued to the student considered to have organised the event.

“It goes without saying that organising and attending any parties or gatherings that break COVID regulations is completely unacceptable, particularly as many students who are following the rules tell us they feel unsafe in their own homes due to the irresponsible actions of others.

“This is especially disheartening as it coincides with a great deal of work to mass test students to allow them to safely travel home to their families for the Christmas holidays.”

The spokesperson also highlighted that students can be fined £100 for attending parties, £250 for organising them and £800 for repeated breaches.

Regarding the donations that came in, Elliot said: “We weren’t expecting people to donate, we weren’t trying to pressure anyone because we all enjoyed what happened while it lasted.”

Feature Image: SWNS

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