New residents of North Idaho College’s residence hall might’ve been surprised in the early months of the Fall semester by crimes occurring in the dorms. According to NIC’s Daily Crime & Fire Log for September 2023, three crimes occurred within the residence hall.
Police were called to the residence hall around 6 p.m. on Sept. 3rd, 2023 for a student in possession of marijuana. The police report reads as follows:
[Resident], who I identified by [their] [state] [Driver’s License] was in possession of marijuana in the form of edibles and THC cartridge.
Marijuana is illegal in the state of Idaho.
The second incident occurred shortly after 10 p.m., Sept. 13th, 2023. The offense was alcohol possession. An excerpt from the police report:
On 9/13/2023 I responded to 518 N College Drive. The call notes the stated [Reporting Party] found alcohol on one of the students. When I arrived Paula Czirr (resident director) pointed to a [resident] and told me [they] had beer in [their] backpack and in a cooler in [their vehicle]. I asked [resident] how old [they were] and [they] told me 20.
Residence hall policy forbids the possession of alcohol in any way.
The third and final criminal offense to occur in the dorms was a threat. It was reported at 7 p.m. on Sept. 19th, 2023. The narrative police report has not yet been released to the public, but here is an excerpt from the summary:
On 9/19/23, I responded to a report of violent threats at 518 N. College Dr. made by [resident]. The head of the dorms, Paula M Czirr, received a report from [resident’s] roommate, [resident’s roommate], in which [resident] had stated the previous day, 9/18/23, he would purchase a shotgun and shoot up the dorms. I responded to the location, where Dean of Students Alex Harris was already speaking with [resident] about the issue.
Subsequent to being read [their] Miranda Warning, [resident] admitted to making the statement about shooting up the dorms and killing the residents. [They] stated [they were] joking with [their] roommates when [they] made the statement and at no time did [they] intend to do harm to anyone in the dorms.
While personal information has been expunged from these quotes, the full police reports are publicly available information which can be requested from Coeur d’Alene Police Department’s records department here.
Dean of Students Alex Harris has been at NIC for 21 years, with the dorms reporting to him for the last 13. He says it is the practice in the residence hall to call the police if the law is broken. “So, if they have alcohol in the dorms, we call the police,” says Harris. “That’s by far the most common, is alcohol possession. The other would be drugs, and by far [the vast majority] of it would be marijuana.”
Harris says that this early in the school year, students new to the dorms are prone to mistakes while adjusting to life on their own. “We have some students move out because they realize they can’t just do whatever they want,” he adds. “I would say this month [September 2023] has been a pretty typical September for NIC.”
Officer Josh Reneau, NIC’s School Resource Officer, said that alcohol violations are the most common. “The culture of college is one where you want to go out and have fun, and sometimes alcohol’s involved,” Reneau stated. “That happens in high school as well.”
Paula Czirr has been NIC’s residence hall director since 2007, NIC being her third college to be a residence director of. “Obviously, there are going to be people here doing the opposite of what we want,” she said.
“We have security measures like, requiring visitors to have an escort and locking the doors. When people have done something to undermine that- sneaking in alcohol, drugs, and so on, that’s usually when we get involved,” Czirr said.
Czirr confirmed that in the residence hall, Residence Assistants (RAs) cannot speak about any crime or incident that occurs in the residence hall. They are allowed to disclose neither the parties involved or the nature of the violation. “It’s basically the student’s right to privacy, and FERPA law covers that,” she said.
Students’ educational records are protected by federal law under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Harris also referred to FERPA regarding reaching out to parents about student violations. “FERPA has what’s called a ‘health and safety’ exception, so, if there’s a health or safety concern about a student, we have to call their parents whether they want us to or not,” Harris explained.
Given the residence hall’s policy of not speaking about crimes and violations on campus or in the residence hall, those curious about violations of the law can obtain police reports directly from Cd’A Police Department as explained earlier in the article.
SRO Reneau stressed that although residents might be partaking in illegal activities like drinking, they shouldn’t refrain from reporting crimes they’ve been the victim of:
“Even if they’re the victim of a crime, they’re hesitant to call us because they’re worried they’ll get in trouble. While I can’t guarantee there won’t be repercussions for your decisions, I won’t let your minor offenses get in the way of the fact you’re the victim of a crime.”
Czirr also said the main focus of the residence staff is safety: “We’re going to do all the things possible to make this a safe space.”
