MSU alum to rioters: 'Take charge of your own future'
First off, congratulations on attending a fine university. I hope your MSU experience will become as positive an experience in your life as it has been in mine. Now, let me give you a take on the Cedar Fest debacle from someone who graduated a while ago and lives far away from your immediate community.
Cedar Fest is as big a problem today as it was 20 years ago. I know this because this “party” and its aftermath made the news in New York City. This clearly is a bigger problem than just little East Lansing. I had a job interview that day. I spent the first five minutes of a precious 30 minutes explaining the actions of students attending my alma mater. What some of you will not understand is that the actions of a precious few, whether they are students or not, have a far-reaching impact on all of your futures. Any immature actions from future students will taint you the same way it is tainting me. I’ve read some of the reactions to Cedar Fest from students. I really don’t care who started it, or who was there, or how the cops reacted. The fact is, Cedar Fest is being reported nationally as an MSU party gone haywire. The media is waiting for this story every year, and every year we give it to them.
I have a family, a mortgage and big college payments for my boy looming on the horizon. Maybe he’ll go to MSU. I’ve had a good “Madison Avenue” career so far, but would like this job as it will help us get ahead. My wife wants to spend more time at home, and we also want to put an addition on the house. I am very typical. I am you 20 years from now.
Students, take my word for it — Cedar Fest is a bad deal for your future. Take charge of your own future. If you are a Cedar Village resident, organize yourselves to prevent this party. Show leadership. Push and work with the administration to find a solution. Work with the police ahead of time, not during or afterward. In the end, put it on your résumé that you did something good to help your community.
If you work in the administration, there is not a good enough reason you can give me as to why this bad press is continuing. In business, if I know someone is waiting to throw egg in my face, I take steps to make sure that doesn’t occur. I’ve read MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon’s letter on this issue. Efforts to date to stop this party clearly are not enough. Next year, you need to make this a top priority and try not to delegate it to others. Your alumni are thoroughly embarrassed. Let me know how I can help.
Jeff Casper
1989 and 1990 MSU graduate
Published on Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Comments
PennState
04/22/08 @ 10:18pm
When a similar event occurred for the second time at PennState in spring 2002 the administration took a very hard line stance. They expelled all the students who were caught and more students that were later ID’d in photos afterward, even graduating seniors. 2 of my friends were stupidly in the fray and lost their degrees that year. PennState hasnt had an incident like that ever since.
I suggest that MSU (my current grad school) considers the same action.
No?
hmm
04/22/08 @ 11:01pm
How did Jeff graduate in 1989 and again in 1990?
I would never
04/22/08 @ 11:53pm
I would never want to work somewhere that cares about riots during my college career. Did the riots really changes the way I was educated? If I was given an interview, they already seen on my resume that I was from MSU. They wouldn’t use that time during an interview to grill me for them, and if they did, that just isn’t the place for me.
Riots and parties have been going on at MSU for decades. And last I checked, the thousands of people getting jobs weren’t being turned away simply because they attend a university that had riots or parties…If anything, companies are more likely to hire from “social” schools for the simple fact that we know how to have a conversation, be social, and have a beer with partners during meetings or outings.
sparty
04/23/08 @ 12:20am
being social does not mean being a rioter. if you are a social drinker that’s fine, but if you like to drink at the same time that you set stuff on fire, i do not think that is very “social”. I would say that is stupid. cedar fest is not going to happen again.
I would never- again
04/23/08 @ 12:27am
I forgot to add that getting a job is combination of many factors, including personality, grades, experience, who you know, etc. Its possible that you are not getting this job for those reasons, and not because of some incident that happened 20 years after you left college. I highly doubt this one incident is the reason you are denied a job.
Secondly, there were riots/cedar fests in 1985,1986,1987 with over thousands of people. Did employers keep you from getting jobs then? You failed to mention how an event that occurred when you were there impacted your ability to get a “madison avenue” job.
Finally, you end with “Let me know how I can help.”. I highly doubt you care about this riot/cedar fest, or else you would have posted this weeks ago. In reality, you are using this newspaper to vent your frustration at not getting a job.
Bill S Preston, Esq.
04/23/08 @ 12:31am
“If anything, companies are more likely to hire from “social” schools for the simple fact that we know how to have a conversation, be social, and have a beer with partners during meetings or outings.”
This mentality prevails to a frightening extent in many of the undergraduates I speak with about Cedar Fest. Employers will use the interview and recommendation letters to determine whether you have social skills. They will NOT be impressed by the fact that you acted like an idiot with no respect for your community.
never again
04/23/08 @ 12:39am
I never stated that rioting was equal to being social. I only said that coming from a party school will give you a social edge, something that will be found in the interview vs. others.
And just attending this university, or even attending cedar fest, does not mean that you acted like an idiot or had no respect for your community. Indeed, if you did act like an idiot you were probably arrested(based on the number of cameras and cops), something which will show up on your background check. But simply rejecting you for a job based on an act others did, is quite ridiculous.
Dudes McCool
04/23/08 @ 2:49am
Jeff – it took you five minutes to explain how you had nothing to do with riots at a school you graduated from 20 years ago?
Why are you even talking about where you graduated from? You have 18 years of work experience between you and your degree. They’re asking you what you studied while Vanilla Ice was the hottest thing going? And what interview is only 30 minutes long? Aren’t you a little old to be at a career fair? Christ, I graduated 3 years ago and no one wants to talk about where I went to school, and the interview is certainly longer than an episode of Pimp My Ride.
Thanks for the super condescending letter, but you should probably go back to taking care of your family and less time worrying about what happened at school you care so much about that you live no where near it.
TN Spartan Alum
04/23/08 @ 8:48am
I am constantly impressed how much effort MSU students put into defending the Cedar Fest riot. There is nothing good about a riot that gets national attention. Nothing. Attacking those alumni who are critical of this “We’re gonna party and don’t give a damn about the ramifications” mentality is foolish. We are the alumni of this school. We are your future.
Your years at State are your years to enjoy – partying is necessary. But, never lose sight of the end game – at some time in the future, whether it is six months from now or fifteen years down the line, the reputation of your school and the actions of the current MSU students will matter. If you can’t picture that now, then you’ll have to take it on faith.
Spartan Alum in Columbus
04/23/08 @ 9:54am
I graduated in 96 and participating in some “riots” during my time…all for idiotic reasons…snowball fight/loss to UM/first round victory in NCAA Tourney…
Will the image of MSU keep you from getting a job? No. Will it be embarassing to have to explain the riots at job interviews or with professional colleagues that read about it in some far-off newspaper? Yes.
Bottomline is that it is stupid to participate in such an event and those who do, or defend the right to “party” (destroy property, light bonfires, toss bottles at cops etc.) are morons, plain and simple.
Give me a Break
04/23/08 @ 12:51pm
I agree with Mr McCool above – Jeff is your 20 years experience after college that dull that the interviewer had to ask about your undergrad college? I graduated MSU back in 2006 and have interviewed and received two job promotions since then and not once during those interviews did my future managers care about which college I attended, they were more concerned with my actual work experiences…..students and alumni both need to calm down and stop caring about cedar fest. It was caused by just a hand full of idiots and does not represent the MSU community as a whole. They can’t make me feel ashamed of my alma mater, ever.
GO Green!
Zeke
04/23/08 @ 3:39pm
The flip side of the coin here is the employer’s side. As a hiring manager, I have indeed asked people in the past two weeks what they thought of the Cedar Fest incident – not because I care what they did, but because I want to get an idea of their sense of responsibility and respect for authority. One person said, “Meh. I don’t understand the big deal – it was just some people having fun.” Another said, “Total disgrace. I wasn’t there and I find the actions of a few to be deplorable.”
Guess who got a second interview? Here’s a hint: it wasn’t the one with the “party school” mentality. It’s hilarious that some people think that asking questions like that have purely to do with one’s college coursework – and funnier that some people have so many job interviews and offers that they would decide “that just isn’t the place for me” if they were asked.
The Champ
04/23/08 @ 3:44pm
Attendees of Late Night Cedar Fest Have Poor Character; Bad Parenting
LOLOLOL
04/23/08 @ 4:43pm
For the last time: CEDAR FEST IS IN THE PAST. It is OVER. When we all go to get a job either as a writer or an engineer or a biologist, I highly doubt we will be asked about a mini “riot” and whether we attended.
And to the alum who called Cedar Fest partygoers “morons”...you are a damn hypocrite! You said you rioted yourself multiple times…fool.
random recruiter
04/23/08 @ 5:43pm
I’m frightened by how many people think they’re going to get a job because they have sweet beer pong skills. Hint: I had a great time in college too, but I don’t hire people to have beers with me…
Sparty 2
04/23/08 @ 9:23pm
BOTTOM LINE: CEDAR FEST IS AN EMBARRASMENT FOR EVERYONE RELATED TO MSU. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE SOCIAL. ALSO, MSU IS NOT A PARTY SCHOOL AS MUCH AS THE MEDIA WANTS IT TO BE. IT IS A FINE INSTITUTION THAT A COUPLE 2 O 3 THOUSAND STUDENTS (THE SAME THAT ATTENDED CEDAR FEST) WANT TO CONVERT INTO HELL AKA PARTY SCHOOL. TAKE A LOOK AROUND MSU’S CAMPUS, GO TO THE ACADEMIC BUILDINGS, LIBRARIES, TALK TO FACULTY... TO ME, MSU IS A FINE INSTITUTION THAT WOULD RANK IN THE TOP 50 IN THE US IF WE STOP DOING STUPID THINGS LIKE CEDAR FEST AND START ENJOYING COLLEGE AS IT SHOULD BE…STUDYING HARD, HAVING FUN ON THE WEEKENDS, GRADUATING, GETTING A GOOD JOB AND, AFTER ALL, GIVING BACK TO MSU. THAT IS THE WHOLE CYCLE THAT CONSTITUTES BEING PART OF MSU. IT IS AS EASY AS GOING TO WIKIPEDIA OR, MAYBE, GOING TO THE LIBRARY AND PICKING UP A BOOK RELATED TO THE HISTORY OF MSU. THERE YOU WILL FIND THAT MSU’S “PARTYING” TRADITION IS NO LONGER THAN 50 YEARS OLD. IF YOU WANT TO PARTY AND SET FIRES ALL DAY, GO TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. I DO NOT TOLERATE “STUDENTS” THAT COME TO MSU AND FIND FUN CREATING PROBLEMS AND FIGHTING WITH THE POLICE. MSU IS MSU...SO DO NOT TRY TO MAKE IT A PARTY SCHOOL. IT IS A GREAT AND FUN SCHOOL BUT NOT A RIOTERS PALACE.
Guy
04/24/08 @ 12:12am
Defeat Another Hussein. Elect McCain!
Massachusetts
04/24/08 @ 1:57pm
As a recent grad who was around for the debacles of ’03 & ’05 I remember being slightly enchanted by the coverage of those parties and riots; thinking they were really intense and maybe even a little bit awesome. Well, after being out in the real world and away from Michigan for three years here is one solid thing I have learned- THEY’RE NOT.
University reputation means a lot in today’s job market and the tarnish you’re creating now will follow you outside of East Lansing. It’s not cool, it’s not a game – it’s an embarrassment. Grow up and represent your school with pride because you’re sure going to want your education to be respected after you leave the banks of the Red Cedar.
Jewels
04/26/08 @ 7:03pm
FYI Mr. Dudes McCool
I attended MSU with Mr. Casper and he actually cared about MSU enough to move from “far away” to attend the school in the first place. He paid extra out of state tuition to be a Spartan. Please do not speak of things you do not know. I believe Zeke addressed your other concerns adequately. Now you can go back to watching “Pimp My Ride”.