The semester is finally coming to a rapid close and, as at the end of every semester, there is a list of offenses the NIU Judicial Office has dealt with.

At the end of this semester, there were a total of 305 cases which were in violation of the university laws, 265 of which involved the consumption of alcohol. These cases include such offenses as physical abuse, sexual harassment, underage drinking, drug abuse, brawling, excessive noise and disruptive behavior, sports indoors, unauthorized removal, possession or use of property and possession of a dangerous weapon.

The offenses which had the largest number of cases by the end of the semester included 60 cases of excessive noise or disruptive behavior and 23 cases of intentional harassment or coercion.

While the vast majority of the offenses are alcohol related, there were also direct violations of alcohol policy, including 27 offenses of underage possession of alcohol in a room and 24 cases of alcohol possession in public. There were an additional 23 charges filed against people for maintaining a “party atmosphere.”

However, of all the cases, Larry Bolles, director of the Judicial Office, said there are three particular offenses which he feels are “very interesting.”

Academic misconduct, or cheating, which had 9 cases on the list, is an extreme concern of the Judicial Office, especially during finals.

Bolles said the faculty “will be ready” to deal with every form of cheating.

“People who are ringers (students who take exams for someone else) will be expelled,” he said. Bolles advised students, “Also, turn in your own work. The teachers will be checking your paper against papers from (several semesters) before.”

Bolles strongly suggested to avoid charges of cheating by telling students not to loan their previous work to anyone.

“You loan your work in good faith to your friend, who copies it and hands it in. How do you prove you did the work first?” Bolles said. “You go from being the good samaritan to someone with an academic misconduct charge.”

Another problem the Judicial Office has keyed into is the problem of guests of residents in the residence halls violating rules.

“There are people hanging out in the lobby who are harassing people and they don’t even go here,” Bolles said. “Residents are responsible for their guests and will be written up if (the guests) violate the rules.”

There also is a related problem of some guests staying in the residence halls weeks at a time. This violates the 72_hour guest policy which states a visitor can only stay in the residence halls for a maximum of 72 hours.

The third case of offense which is carefully studied by the Judicial Office is the problem of potential gang violence.

“Being in a gang and making signs representing a gang is not against the law,” Bolles said. “But if you or another person are in a gang and are intimidating or threatening another person, that is grounds for expulsion.”

Bolles said the gang problem on campus is not serious. However, the main goal of the Judicial Office is to make students feel safe on campus.