Larry Bolles has one son, but sometimes it must feel like he has more than 20,000 kids.

That’s because, like any parent, Bolles receives phone calls in the middle of the night notifying him that one of his “children” has done something wrong and must be dealt with.

However, Bolles is not your parent. Since the 1980s, Bolles has served as director of the University Judicial Office.

“My job is to make sure we have a very effective and efficient due process system at Northern Illinois University for students in regards to student discipline,” he said. “When students commit alleged violations of the judicial code they are expected to be dealt with in a fair and just way and I make sure that expectation is met.”

Bolles sees and disciplines students in regard to five different violations: noise, drinking, drugs, academic misconduct and acts of violence.

Though students probably hope never to see Bolles (at least in the capacity of his job), he considers his meetings with them a high point.

“Talking to students is the best part of my job. I probably talk to over 5,000 students a year and not all of them in regards to discipline,” he said. “Some students stop in just looking for some advice or direction.”

Then there are those students who unwittingly teach Bolles a lesson.

“I know more about rap music than I ever wanted to,” he said.

Sarah Malcore, a graduate assistant in the judicial office, said Bolles is an approachable person if you give him a chance.

“He is definitely an outgoing, personable individual,” she said.

Bolles said the students he deals with are the exception, not the rule.

“The average college student is a great person and has a great attitude,” he said.

It’s the few students he doesn’t get to in time that haunt Bolles.

“The absolute worst part of my job is not being able to get through to students in time and see them end up with a felony beef,” he said. “When you get a felony conviction, if you are found guilty, you can’t get that off your record until the day you die.”

As one can imagine, his job doesn’t make Bolles the most popular man on campus, but he deals with it in stride.

“There are two things you need to have to be a judicial officer: patience and a sense of humor,” he said.

Bolles realizes that underage drinking occurs, but he doesn’t have to like it.

“Kids have been drinking here since they put the first brick up,” he said. “You need to be responsible about what you do. I don’t think underage students should drink, but I have no control over it.”

In his time at NIU, Bolles thought he had seen it all, but Sept. 11 changed that, and him.

“It made me more focused on the real world and what is going on outside of America,” he said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but my office was quiet for the next six or seven months. Students were not doing the things they normally do that get them in trouble.”

Bolles is careful to note that he couldn’t do his job without a very talented staff.

“I have a great, diverse group of people here and I am proud of the work they do,” he said.

Annie Murphy, office manager for the judicial office, returned the praise.

“I have learned a lot from working with him. He is very fair and impartial,” Murphy said. “He is very compassionate with the students. He really takes a lot of time to sit and talk with them and try and work things out in a fair way.”

At the end of the day, Bolles goes home to his wife Cecelia and keeps in contact with his son, Jason, who attends another university in Illinois.

Bolles enjoys community service, reading and playing basketball during his spare time. But he knows that when he comes into the office the next day, he better be ready to work.

“There are not a lot of bad days on this job,” he said. “College students have a lot of bad days, but, when it’s your job to help them, you can’t have a bad day.”