Nic Gets Hate Letter After Diversity Forum Unsigned Note Is Another Example Of Disturbing Trend, Administrators Say

Days after community leaders attended a human rights celebration, North Idaho College officials have received another hate letter - one more example of a disturbing trend at the school, administrators say.

The unsigned letter showed up in a student government suggestion box late last week and was also distributed on several cars around campus, NIC interim President Ron Bell said.

It attacks the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, task force spokesman and NIC professor Tony Stewart, and last week’s diversity forum at NIC.

“I’m just totally blown away by this,” said Bell, who wrote an open letter to NIC faculty and staff after the incident. “It’s just one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.”

But it’s not the only one.

In October, NIC Human Equality Club President Josh Buehner, 19, was spit on and denounced by a passer-by. The following month, NIC was littered with Aryan Nations fliers.

College officials say there have been several other instances of leafleting, harassing phone calls and hate letter distribution during the school year.

“It’s the most in a very long time,” Stewart said. “It might be the most ever.”

Since not all of the incidents are reported to police, it is difficult to get an accurate estimate of the problem.

One hate crime expert, though, says similar incidents are decreasing nationwide, but that doesn’t stop the groups from searching for new members.

“If there is a waning of racist attitudes, then white supremacist groups may feel a need to recruit,” said Joseph Gallegos, a professor of social work at the University of Portland who has written extensively on bias-motivated violence.

NIC officials say they don’t know why the college has become a target in recent months.

NIC and the task force have increased their presence recently to offset the Aryan Nations proposed march through Coeur d’Alene in July. Several hundred people attended a banquet sponsored by the task force on April 13 to celebrate the diverse groups that helped build Idaho.

But representatives from NIC and the task force say they don’t know if their stepped-efforts have prompted the response.

“It’s interesting that these folks would target us because we really are a place that is open to permitting people to have opinions,” Bell said. “It’s almost a compliment to North Idaho College, a higher education institution, that they want to influence people who can make a difference.”

Opinions may be harmless, Gallegos said. But they can also lead to violence.

“It’s important at universities to respect people’s rights to differing opinions,” he said. “But is there a point when tolerance becomes as evil as intolerance? At what point does a society have to draw the line?”