Riots again...
This makes me so sad: I thought the school had gotten over the partying image and was past the rioting...sigh.
MSU says riot not a blow to image
Others at school fear the fallout
BY MATTHEW MILLER • LANSING STATE JOURNAL • April 7, 2008
EAST LANSING -- Deserved or not, Michigan State University has developed a reputation as a school where the scent of tear gas can be one of the first signs of spring.
But in the aftermath of this weekend's riot at the Cedar Fest bash -- where 52 people were arrested and 48 additional citations were issued at an event that drew 3,000 to 4,000 revelers -- university administrators and others were insisting that the disturbances were not reflective of the institution as a whole or the vast majority of its students.
"Any thinking person would look at the data and clearly give credit to the preponderance of evidence," said Terry Denbow, vice president for university relations, noting that many of the revelers weren't associated with MSU.
"The only thing green about many of these people was the color of their faces in the mirror this morning."
Asked about the fact that 28 of the people arrested were MSU students, Denbow replied, "28 of 52 is one way to look at it, but 28 out of 46,500," students at MSU "is another way to look at it.
"Based on my gut and my expertise, I do not see any institutional reputational outcome of this when people consider all the information," he said.
Others weren't so optimistic.
Clint Lafayette, an MSU junior, lives down the block from the event, meant to be a revival of the Cedar Fest parties of the 1980s. And he said he watched until after 5 a.m. Sunday.
"These types of things, they're not good" for the school's reputation, he said.
Thirteen rounds of tear gas were fired on riotous youths at Cedar Village Apartments early Sunday, far less than in a 2005 riot in the same area, police officials say. East Lansing Police Chief Tom Wibert said he had no choice but to use the gas after the crowd threw too many rocks, bricks and bottles.
According to East Lansing police, 80 law enforcement officers from East Lansing, MSU, Lansing, Ingham County, and Michigan State Police had responded to Cedar Village when the riot broke out.
Fire officials could not be reached. East Lansing police said Sunday that a few youths were taken to the hospital.
Fred Porter, president of the Lansing chapter of Michigan State University Black Alumni, said the incident "doesn't make the school look good." Still, he hesitated to criticize either university officials, who "seem to have done everything they can to quash" out-of-control behavior, or the students involved.
"It's unfortunate," he said, "but many times when you get youngsters who are in a position to be on their own and not have any restrictions on them for the first time in their lives, they tend to get carried away.
"I just hope some of them wake up and stop acting foolish," he said.
Contact MATTHEW MILLER at 517-377-1046 or mrmiller@lsj.com. State Journal staff writers Susan Vela and Derek Wallbank contributed.
MSU says riot not a blow to image
Others at school fear the fallout
BY MATTHEW MILLER • LANSING STATE JOURNAL • April 7, 2008
EAST LANSING -- Deserved or not, Michigan State University has developed a reputation as a school where the scent of tear gas can be one of the first signs of spring.
But in the aftermath of this weekend's riot at the Cedar Fest bash -- where 52 people were arrested and 48 additional citations were issued at an event that drew 3,000 to 4,000 revelers -- university administrators and others were insisting that the disturbances were not reflective of the institution as a whole or the vast majority of its students.
"Any thinking person would look at the data and clearly give credit to the preponderance of evidence," said Terry Denbow, vice president for university relations, noting that many of the revelers weren't associated with MSU.
"The only thing green about many of these people was the color of their faces in the mirror this morning."
Asked about the fact that 28 of the people arrested were MSU students, Denbow replied, "28 of 52 is one way to look at it, but 28 out of 46,500," students at MSU "is another way to look at it.
"Based on my gut and my expertise, I do not see any institutional reputational outcome of this when people consider all the information," he said.
Others weren't so optimistic.
Clint Lafayette, an MSU junior, lives down the block from the event, meant to be a revival of the Cedar Fest parties of the 1980s. And he said he watched until after 5 a.m. Sunday.
"These types of things, they're not good" for the school's reputation, he said.
Thirteen rounds of tear gas were fired on riotous youths at Cedar Village Apartments early Sunday, far less than in a 2005 riot in the same area, police officials say. East Lansing Police Chief Tom Wibert said he had no choice but to use the gas after the crowd threw too many rocks, bricks and bottles.
According to East Lansing police, 80 law enforcement officers from East Lansing, MSU, Lansing, Ingham County, and Michigan State Police had responded to Cedar Village when the riot broke out.
Fire officials could not be reached. East Lansing police said Sunday that a few youths were taken to the hospital.
Fred Porter, president of the Lansing chapter of Michigan State University Black Alumni, said the incident "doesn't make the school look good." Still, he hesitated to criticize either university officials, who "seem to have done everything they can to quash" out-of-control behavior, or the students involved.
"It's unfortunate," he said, "but many times when you get youngsters who are in a position to be on their own and not have any restrictions on them for the first time in their lives, they tend to get carried away.
"I just hope some of them wake up and stop acting foolish," he said.
Contact MATTHEW MILLER at 517-377-1046 or mrmiller@lsj.com. State Journal staff writers Susan Vela and Derek Wallbank contributed.