Unhas expels forestry student over sexual harassment

Makassar (ANTARA) - Hasanuddin University (Unhas) has dishonourably discharged a student from the Faculty of Forestry, identified as WL, who had previously come under scrutiny after allegedly committing verbal sexual harassment against a number of prospective new students through the WhatsApp platform. This is stipulated in the Rector’s Decree of Unhas Number: 17120/UN4.1/KEP/2026 concerning the Dishonourable Discharge of Mr. xxxxxxx, (Student ID xxxxxxxx) as a Forestry Student of Hasanuddin University, dated 7 August 2026. The Head of the Sub-Directorate of Public Relations and Documentation of the Rector’s Communication Directorate at Unhas, Ishaq Rahman, said in Makassar on Saturday that the discharge marks the end of a series of ethical and administrative processes that have been ongoing since the case surfaced on social media in June 2026. He explained that, normatively, the actions alleged against WL carry serious consequences within Unhas’s student ethics system. More firmly, the Rector’s Regulation of Unhas Number 17/UN4.1/2023 concerning Procedures for Imposing Sanctions for Violations of the Student Code of Ethics categorises sexual harassment as a serious violation. This is stated in Article 33 paragraph (3), which can result in severe sanctions. These severe sanctions include honourable discharge at one’s own request and dishonourable discharge or expulsion as a student. This means that the dishonourable discharge in this case is grounded in Unhas’s internal ethics system, not merely a decision taken because the case went viral. Using that identity, WL established communication via WhatsApp with a number of prospective new Unhas students. He sent messages containing elements of verbal sexual harassment. WL was also involved in several WhatsApp channels or groups that spread false information to prospective new students. Some groups that originally contained adult content were also said to have been altered in such a way as to appear to be official groups for prospective new Unhas students.