A commerce honours graduate was this morning granted bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000 after he pleaded not guilty to seriously injuring the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Carmelo Sammut, 54, at around 1 p.m. yesterday.

The student, Glanville Goodlip, 22 of Iklin, was celebrating the completion of his course when he and the dean had an altercation on campus.

Mr Goodlip, who graduated on Wednesday, also pleaded not guilty to forming part of a group of 10 people and breaching the peace.

Police Inspector Saviour Baldacchino prosecuted. Lawyer Stefano Filletti appeared for Mr Goodlip.

Prof. Sammut was seriously injured yesterday when, according to UMASA, the union that represents the University of Malta academics, he was manhandled by a group of former university students 'celebrating' their graduation.

But the students said the dean had punched a student and broke his nose.

UMASA president Matthew Montebello said that former B. Com students had drunk a little bit too much when celebrating their graduation.

The students were shouting and celebrating at the Faculty of Science and Dean Charles Sammut got out of his office and asked them to be quiet.

One of the students blasted a stadium horn and the dean ended up surrounded by 30 to 40 students who threw him to the floor when he tried to protect himself.

Dr Montebello said Prof. Sammut, a senior academic, was bruised and his shoulder was fractured as a result. He also ended up covered in alcohol.

The dean had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

Dr Montebello said action had to be taken before someone was killed. Former students had a right to celebrate but there was a limit. Lecturers were fearing students and locking themselves up in their offices, he said.

Moreover, once students graduated, they should not be on university premises.

But a student told timesofmalta.com the students were celebrating in front of the faculty with horns and whistles when they saw a colleague covered in blood because of a broken nose on the ground.

The student had apparently been punched and he pushed the dean in reaction. The commotion ensued when other students tried to take the student and the dean apart.

Although it was true that the student had drank some alcohol, they were not overly drunk and just two minutes before the incident they had taken a photograph with the dean of their faculty, the student said.

As a result of the incident, UMASA this morning e-mailed academic staff informing them that the UMASA council has asked the University "to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that campus is a safe and peaceful environment for staff during the graduation weeks."

The council instructed staff to take all necessary measures to put their own personal safety first, report any incidents they may see and, if they saw fit, not attend activities on campus, including graduation ceremonies.

In a statement, UMASA said it was outraged "at the criminal behaviour of ex-students trespassing on university grounds and disrupting lectures, damaging university property, endangering staff members, and physically threatening and injuring members of academic staff". 

UMASA said it expected the police to take action against those responsible. It also expected the university to ensure a safe and peaceful environment for its staff.

The incident was condemned by the Forum Unions Maltin which expressed its support with UMASA.

The university also condemned the incident and warned that immediate action will be taken against any new graduates who, singly or in groups, acted in a disorderly and inappropriate manner or who in any way threatened persons or property on campus.

"Whilst the University is pleased to see the new graduates celebrating this important occasion, it is important that their behaviour is kept within reasonable limits.

"Unfortunately, the general conduct of some of the new graduates on campus has deteriorated dramatically in the last days resulting in disruption of lectures as well as other more serious incidents.

"University is now very concerned about the safety of its staff and students and for the security of the valuable equipment found in the many laboratories," it said.

In a statement, the University Students’ Council, KSU, categorically condemned all sorts of violence and illegalities committed by students in particular that directed towards academic staff, the driving force behind a growing and successful university.

It reiterated its call to students, to celebrate responsibly and appropriately, as mature graduates who should be setting an example to society, without ever resorting to violent or unruly behaviour.

However, it pointed out that the incident involving the Dean of the Faculty of Science was an isolated one, which did not in any way reflect the general conduct of university students.

It called for prudence and said that some comments from UMASA regarding the incident were prejudicial when portraying a very negative picture of students, which in the majority of times was far from the truth.

It wished the dean a speedy recovery.

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