Some 49 students, alumni, and community members addressed the North Idaho College Board of Trustees at its first meeting following the show cause sanction, while overflow crowds gathered in an adjacent room on the Coeur d’Alene campus.

Student Senator Alex Elliott delivered a blunt message: ‘Do you want this college to be here for your children, your grandchildren? Then resign.’ Others asked trustees to put differences aside to find a solution.

NIC’s faculty assembly sent a letter to the board stating that the ‘only remedy is to undo all of the actions from December 2022 immediately.’ The faculty specifically called on the board to remove interim president Greg South, remove legal counsel Art Macomber, take President Swayne off administrative leave, and give him full operational authority.

The meeting reflected the depth of community concern over the crisis at the 90-year-old institution, which serves as the primary postsecondary education provider for the North Idaho region.