Fed up with a litany of poor behavior by drunken students, Tohoku University in Miyagi Prefecture has decided to take the unusually harsh step of evicting all 105 residents from a school dorm by the end of September.
The move, announced Tuesday, represents a last resort by the prestigious university to stamp out alcohol-related lapses that have plagued the 123-year-old dorm, named Meizenryo, which is overseen by the university but run by a student body. The dorm in the city of Sendai houses first- and second-year students and about 70 percent of its residents are not legally old enough to drink, according to the university.
For years, the school admonished students to improve their behavior, and in April it issued a notice banning any drinking activities in the dorm. But such efforts haven't worked, said Yasunori Kumakura, a university official in charge of student affairs.