Unhas expels forestry student over sexual harassment

Makassar (ANTARA) - Unhas has dishonourably discharged a student from the Faculty of Forestry, identified by the initials 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 set out in Rector’s Decree 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.

Ishaq Rahman, Head of the Sub-Directorate for Public Relations and Documentation at the Rector’s Communication Directorate, said in Makassar on Saturday that the discharge marks the end of a series of ethics 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 still, Unhas Rector’s Regulation Number 17/UN4.1/2023 concerning Procedures for Imposing Sanctions for Violations of the Student Code of Ethics classifies sexual harassment as a category of serious violation. This is set out in Article 33 paragraph (3), which may attract severe sanctions.

These severe sanctions include honourable discharge at the student’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 a number of 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 that they appeared to be official groups for prospective new Unhas students.