An associate professor of creative writing at the University of North Dakota panicked upon seeing ROTC students preparing for rifle drills, dove under her desk and called 911.
Heidi Czerwiec wrote in a letter to the Grand Forks Herald, “I can barely talk—first, with fear, and then with rage when the dispatcher reports back that yes, in fact, I’ve probably just seen ROTC cadets …”
Czerwiec had previously been notified of the exercises via email; the dispatcher also confirmed it, campus police called to reassure her, and a UND spokesperson even took responsibility for insufficient notification. However, Czerwiec complained that another officer, who called to let her know this would be ongoing, “scolded me for calling 911.”
“So I reply that I guess I’ll be calling 911 for the next couple weeks—and I will. Every time,” she responded, calling on-campus “military maneuvers” inappropriate, unnecessary and irresponsible.
