A 500-level nursing student of Madonna University, Rivers State, has made an emotional appeal for a second chance after she and other students were expelled over their participation in a viral TikTok challenge.

The student, who was among those sanctioned after a video of nursing students dancing inside the university’s teaching hospital circulated online, said she was struggling with how to explain the situation to her mother after spending years pursuing her nursing education.

In a tearful video shared online, she pleaded with the university authorities to reconsider the disciplinary action.

“How do I explain to my mother? I’m one of the dozen students that was expelled. After all these years, how do I explain to my mother? Please, let us have a second chance,” she said.

The video was linked to a social media trend involving nursing students, with the students seen dancing in different sections of the teaching hospital, including a waiting area, staircase and a university bus.

The footage, reportedly recorded in August, carried the caption, “No fall sick o, na Gen Z full hospital now,” before gaining wider attention after it was circulated on social media.

Madonna University subsequently confirmed that the video was recorded within its teaching hospital and took disciplinary action against the students involved.

The disciplinary action has generated mixed reactions, with some people arguing that nursing students should be held to professional standards because of the nature of their training, while others have called for a less severe punishment.

The National Association of Nigerian Students has joined calls for clemency, acknowledging that the students’ conduct was inappropriate but asking the university to reconsider the expulsions.

NANS President, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, described expulsion as a severe punishment that could have long-term consequences for the affected students’ education and future careers.

The association appealed to the university to replace the expulsions with a stern warning, arguing that the students had already invested years, resources and personal sacrifices in their nursing education.

The latest plea by the affected student has further drawn attention to the dispute, particularly because some of those sanctioned were reportedly close to completing their studies.