MAKASSAR — Hasanuddin University (Unhas) has officially dishonorably dismissed a student of the Faculty of Forestry with the initials WL, who earlier drew attention after allegedly verbally sexually harassing a number of prospective new students via WhatsApp.
This is stated in the Unhas Rector’s Decree No. 17120/UN4.1/KEP/2026 on the Dishonorable Dismissal of Mr./Ms. xxxxxxx (Student ID xxxxxxxx) as a Student of the Faculty of Forestry, Hasanuddin University, dated 7 August 2026. (Personal identity masked by Unhas Public Relations.)
The dismissal is the culmination of a series of ethical and administrative proceedings that began when the case surfaced on social media in June 2026.
The WL case first came to public attention on the night of Monday, 22 June 2026. WL claimed to be the Chair of the Unhas Campus Life Orientation for New Students (PKKMB) committee.
Using that identity, WL communicated via WhatsApp with a number of prospective Unhas students. WL sent messages that contained 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 initially contained adult content were also reportedly altered to appear to be official groups for prospective Unhas students.
Faculty Leadership Acted a Day After the Case Went Viral
The Unhas Faculty of Forestry responded to the case relatively quickly. On Tuesday, 23 June 2026, a day after the information went viral, the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs summoned WL to the Faculty of Forestry Dean’s Office Building to provide clarification. WL’s family also attended the meeting.
WL admitted the actions. WL expressed regret and said WL was willing to accept sanctions under the applicable rules. WL even said WL was willing to resign as an Unhas student.
Students of the Faculty of Forestry who learned of the case voiced their objections. In a demonstration on 23 June 2026, a number of students urged that the case be processed through the ethics mechanism applicable at Unhas.
An administrative resolution through resignation differs from a dismissal decision. The former is the student’s own decision, while the latter is an institutional sanction for a violation that has been processed through the ethics mechanism.
Dismissal Recommendation Emerged From the Start
After the clarification, the Dean of the Faculty of Forestry issued an assignment letter to convene a faculty-level hearing of the Student Code of Ethics Council (MKEM). The hearing was held on the night of 23 June 2026. The outcome of the ethics proceedings at the faculty level is the basis on which faculty leadership forwards a recommendation to the Unhas Rector.
Thus, in substance, the decision of dishonorable dismissal had emerged from the ethics proceedings at the Faculty of Forestry level in June.
What followed was primarily an administrative process to ensure that the decision was reached in accordance with procedure.
When the case surfaced, Unhas Public Relations also said that, based on the reconstruction of events, the student’s admission, the family’s response, and information received from the affected parties, the faculty was preparing a severe sanction in the form of dishonorable dismissal.
Why Did the Process Not Go Straight to a Dismissal Decree?
The period from the case surfacing in June to the dismissal decision being issued in early August may seem rather long. However, student ethics proceedings do not end with the initial examination at the faculty level.
Unhas regulations provide for mechanisms of examination, hearing, drafting of decisions, and possible objections. Under the rules, a student who is subject to a faculty-level MKEM decision may file an objection with the Rector.
The Rector may then form a university-level MKEM to re-examine the application of the law in the faculty-level ruling.
In the WL case, this process was very important because the final decision is not merely a response to public pressure. A student’s dismissal must have a clear basis. Revoking student status can only be done by the Rector.
Sexual Harassment Is Classified as a Serious Violation
Normatively, the acts alleged against WL carry serious consequences under the Unhas student ethics system.
Unhas Academic Senate Regulation No. 00004/UN4.2/2023 on the Student Code of Ethics explicitly prohibits students from committing acts classified as sexual violations and deviations, pornography, sexual harassment, and promiscuity, whether inside or outside the Unhas environment.
More explicitly, Unhas Rector’s Regulation No. 17/UN4.1/2023 on Procedures for Imposing Sanctions for Violations of the Student Code of Ethics classifies sexual harassment as a serious violation. This is set out in Article 33 paragraph (3), which provides for severe sanctions.
Severe sanctions include honorable discharge at the student’s own request and dishonorable dismissal, that is, expulsion as a student.
This means the dishonorable dismissal in this case has a footing in Unhas’s internal ethics system and is not merely a decision taken because the case went viral.
Unhas Policy Grows Firmer on Violence
This case also takes place amid the strengthening of Unhas policy on the prevention and handling of violence on campus.
Rector’s Regulation No. 14/UN4.1/2025 on the Prevention and Handling of Violence within Hasanuddin University is a strengthening of Unhas’s internal policy in responding to various forms of violence in the higher education environment.
Previously, Unhas also had Rector’s Regulation No. 6/UN4.1/2023 on Guidelines for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence at Unhas, and Rector’s Regulation No. 7/UN4.1/2023 on the Code of Ethics of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Handling Task Force.
With this regulatory framework, the handling of violence cases is placed not only as a matter of student discipline, but also as part of efforts to create a safe educational environment.
With this final decision, Unhas affirms that student status is no reason to disregard ethical standards. On the contrary, being a student carries the responsibility to abide by academic rules and campus ethics.
In the end, WL’s dismissal is not merely the end of a case that went viral on social media. The decision is part of Unhas’s effort, particularly that of the Faculty of Forestry, to enforce a clear line on behavior that can be tolerated in the academic environment: that sexual harassment, including through digital spaces, is a serious violation that can end in the loss of student status.(*/ir)
Editor : Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.