http://www.statenews.com The 52 people charged for crimes committed during Cedar Fest all face misdemeanor charges, but that could change as charges are finalized, East Lansing police said Monday. en-us Foundry4 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:18:00 -0500 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:51:06 -0400 webmaster@statenews.com http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14535/view finally, good to know that they will review the videos and make more arrests. Thats what you get for acting like a child, finally! If you act illegally, rioting then you should be punished. Finally something that I can agree on with the EL police. If you do something wrong, there will be consequences to pay! Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:43:02 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14535/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14541/view screw the police sparty on baby Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:34:32 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14541/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14545/view Why does the State News continually interview idiots? '“I think they got their point across by arresting and teargassing people (at Cedar Fest),” Meleca said.' Apparently they didn't because if they got their point across this bullshit would have stopped after the 1999 riots. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:54:20 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14545/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14546/view When a scene is considered a riot it is 4 or more people breaking a law. I never saw 8 breasts at the same time. For any graduate that is reading this article, Did you guys throw crap at the cops and people, like 40s? Who does that? The 80 trashy dudes from Michigan. Make it a MSU block party and nothing would have happened. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:14:59 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14546/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14558/view since when is posting something on the INTERNET illegal?! what if you left your facebook on and your roommate posted “im going to kill a cop” on the event wall for cedar fest??? you deserve to go to jail and pay huge fines for that?! total bulls*** Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:25:37 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14558/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14568/view Next: double-secret probation. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:11:31 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14568/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14570/view Its illegal to make a threat regardless of where you make it. People have been arrested for less. Score one more for MSU’s repuation. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:14:30 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14570/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14573/view For the record, the 1999 riots and the ELPD’s reactions to them have little relevance to any current student at MSU. We weren’t here for them, many of us aren’t from MI and didn’t follow the story, and quite frankly, we were most likely not older than about 8th grade. That message was never sent to us. That said, I was at Cedar Fest and the corner of Waters Edge and Cedar Street is visible from my bedroom window. I came inside when people started ripping out street signs because I figured things would get bad. I’m not really a fan of the ELPD, but in general I thought they did a good job of handling the situation. There were a lot of people who weren’t going anywhere until they got tear gassed. There were a lot of people who just wanted to see what happened. It’s unfortunate that the entire night, which until about 12:30 or 1:00 was mostly a few thousand people enjoying nice weather and having a block party, was colored by this ending. Yes, there were troublemakers. The police were well-equipped to deal with the few who caused problems at the beginning. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:20:34 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14573/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14579/view I came in to work this morning and my co-worker tells me, “Your boys are at it again. There was rioting at MSU!” MY BOYS ARE AT IT AGAIN? This is what our college reputation has come down to – nobody even thinks its news; we’re supposed to be those rowdy boys who get drunk and can’t stop acting stupid unless the police TG our as.ses! There is no such thing as a peaceful block party in MSU. Whether the rioters were from MSU or not its immensely embarrassing for all of us around the country (and the world) for people to think this is where we got our degrees from! Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:46:32 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14579/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14583/view I think you people might be taking the reputation issue a bit too seriously. MSU has been known as a party school for a looong time. That’s not exactly the best reputation either but people have bragged about it for years. The riots pissed me off just as much as the next person but I think I don’t think the declining “reputation” of the school will affect any of you in any way. So someone might ask “Oh hey, that’s where people rioted” but it doesn’t mean that they’ll automatically classify you as some piece of shit just because you went to MSU. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:06:56 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14583/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14585/view Apparently the ELPD need to open up their Constitutional Law books. There is absolutely no way the posters or organizers on Facebook will be prosecuted. There’s something called freedom of expression. Last time I checked, the words on the website would have to have an imminent threat of danger and the words would actually have to incite people to carry out unlawful actions. If the posts say “Come drink and party in Cedar Village” that is hardly imminent danger. If someone specifically posts something about “rioting” or violence, destruction of property, or other unlawful behavior, then that’s a little different although I still don’t think it would hold up against strict scrutiny. The cops certainly did their jobs on sat night/sunday morning but busting the people on facebook is just “setting an example” and that is wrong IMO. I hope someone sues. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:13:22 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14585/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14590/view Again, check some history. A facebook posting may or may not be prosecutable, but there are other ways to punish anybody who posted. I was around for the late 90’s / early 2000’s riots. I especially remember the riot that formed after admin banned alcohol on Munn Field tailgates, which used to be 10 times bigger and crazier than the tennis courts are now. That started as just the same “Peaceful gathering”, and was initiated as a campus-wide email written by a James Madison undergrad. Things got out of hand, and Grand River was trashed. The student was threatened with expulsion unless he made some very public and embarrassing apologies. His face was plastered on every newspaper and tv newscast in Michigan. Personally, I’d rather take a fine from ELPD than have my parents and every prospective employer in the state see my picture with the headline “this guy incites riots and might be expelled from school”. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:57:33 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14590/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14596/view Wasn’t the Cedar fest event banned back in the day? If so…it would make it illegal to post it on the net to have a BANNED event. I am so tired of hearing and reading stupid students whine about how they think it is so unfair that the police busted up their good time. Note: three or more gathered + a threat to safety + throwing things at police = RIOT! ELPD are right in how they called this one. Get over it, stop pissing and moaning that you got caught and now you have a record. Learn from your moronic choices and grow up. Like SpartanLadKenny, I am so tired of hearing “your gang has shown true class, yet again.” I have been gone for 4 years I am still being lumped in with the morons at the school who chose to contiune to cause a black eye on the school. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:13:05 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14596/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14599/view All of the above-stated commentary has already been spoken. Do a bit of historical research on what happened to those prosecuted in relation to the events of 1999 and you will be truly sickened.. This is the fate of those who were involved in the recent event, and believe me there will be no “kid gloves” when it comes to prosecuting or “grey area” theft of information to get what they consider “the job” done. “Incite to Riot”, “Unlawful Assembly”, and “Indecent Exposure” are all terms that the MSU community will become very familiar with in the next couple of weeks. Those charged will face the reality of being charged with up to a 5 year felony to being listed on the sex offender registry simply for exposing breasts. There will be fines per individual that total over 10,000.00 for taking down a street sign, but disproportionately 1000.00 to someone who destroyed a car- keep tabs, you will see my numbers will not be far off. These fines will only be doled out to MSU students after investigation of family monetary worth- honestly, you cannot charge someone that cannot pay the mass of fines and restitution can you? Please do not get me wrong, those who are responsible must be held accountable, but if they did not arrest the non-students at the event it is bloody unlikely for them be able to move forward with locating/prosecuting them in the future. Instead, they will “mole” through the networking sites, confiscate photos that are being developed locally(if anyone uses film anymore), put pressure on your friends at your front door for information, and pay your enemies a few dollars to locate you even if it is the middle of the summer. I hope that you the reader take heed to what I have written- it is all out there for you to research, but ultimately I hope that this sparks interest— and a student, or group of students become involved to involve the ACLU, investigate MSU and ELPD “grey area” procedures. Prosecute those who are TRULY guilty though it might involve bit of detective work vs. “shooting fish in a barrel”, and ultimately involve ALL related parties and LISTEN to the MSU community to SOLVE the problem not compound as has been done for nearly a decade. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:19:02 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14599/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14603/view STEVE – I went to MSU and loved it, for about a few days until I saw how crappy the cops act towards students there. They truly do have an “us against them” mentality. They get off on busting students for the most insane baby laws that other cities ONLY ENFORCE if a person really begs for it. Its SAD. THAT BEING SAID, what happened at Cedar Fest is not okay. But get used to the way ELPD and MSUPD handle laws. They are so pathetic. They actually WILL file charges against internet posters. They actually WOULD AND MIGHT file felonies on them. Their way of operating is “FILE CHARGES AND IF THE CHARGES DON’T STICK AT LEAST WE SHOWED THEM WE ARE TOUGH ON ENFORCEMENT.” .......LOTS of their garbage charges are pled down to near-nothing most of the time. Okay I’ll stop now before they try to charge me with something. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:26:24 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14603/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14607/view Charge em, expell em, put there names, addresses and pictures in paper and make em all pay for damages…cost of police, cost of cleanup, cost of broken car windows etc. E Lansing and MSU has 50 or so right now. Start the process. If any of the 50 were underage and drunk..dont release em until they tell who gave em the booze. if store or friend or parent..start arresting and charging and if fellow MSU student..expell them too. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:37:06 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14607/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14608/view so someone posting on the internet is now a crime? i find it hard to believe that they can prosecute someone for posting on the internet if they dont have photographic proof that they were there. i can say i busted into the CIA and stole everyone’s SSN... but i doubt they’re going to put me in federal prison Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:40:54 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14608/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14611/view ie, none of the things SAID on facebook would ever hold up in court Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:46:54 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14611/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14612/view what a great idea…put there names, faces, crimes committed or charged with on the internet now for all of us to see. Love it and expell those students NOW. The none students give em heavy fines and jail time. We with inquiring minds want to know who the bums were and im sure there parents or maybe there grandparents would be so proud. I dont think the parents understand the word law and order. They most likely were the 70s and 80s folks. But i bet Gramps would. Show us all who you got E. Lansing. Like the man said posting on internet aint a crime. Lets see the bums. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:53:51 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14612/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14613/view the facebook shit is gonna laughed out of court. any idiot knows that. the idiots that got busted will get what they deserve. the cops got what they deserve by not breaking it up sooner. only an idiot would give a shit about the “reputation of the school”. college is all about getting drunk and laid, the idiots that worry about “reputation” don’t get drunk and laid enough. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:55:56 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14613/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14614/view did you see the babe in the photos with it all showing. im glad that wasnt one of my grandkids. She and her parents should have a long talk with a priest or a pimp. Huba, Huba. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:00:15 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14614/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14619/view It’s true that East Lansing cops go out of their way to bust people. But those people are breaking the damn law so how do they not deserve what they get? When I was young with the “I think the whole world revolves around me” attitude I would get very angry with the police when they would stop me for doing something that was obviously illegal. Now I look back and realize that they were just aggressively doing their job, and there is nothing wrong with that. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:10:34 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14619/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14620/view If the 80 police officers were assigned there before the rioting occured why should that cost be compensated because of the riot. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:12:11 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14620/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14623/view they were there cause of the planned riot and they failed. 80 officers and only arresting 50 scum bags. They should have had double that there and a few water cannons as well, to sweep the streets of the scum and trash. Expell em and Bill em. And if they are not students lock em up..6 months jail time…resisting arrest, drunk, indecent exposure, disrupting the peace and inciting to riot. Oh and my favorate offering sex in public. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:20:35 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14623/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14625/view i gotta admit, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing these clowns and skanks having their names made public and being paraded into court. it’ll be truly comical to compare how they dress for court with how they were dressed when arrested. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:25:32 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14625/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14635/view as long as you’re not an ass the cops leave you alone. try being polite and not talking back…not reciting your “rights” and not being disrespectful and you’d be amazed at how the cops will treat you. the cops aren’t going to prevent you from partying…just from having your parties turn destructive. it’ll be interesting to see how these charges against facebook organizers go…they could go after them in the same way they would go after someone who hosts a party in their house that gets out of hand…we’ll just have to see. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:41:41 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14635/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14648/view If you posted “It was great. I took down the sign and charged the cops” on your facebook site, you will be prosecuted (don’t worry, they already have it print form, so no use changing it now). If you posted “I was at cedar fest, it was great until the idiots ruined it” you will not be prosecuted. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:38:14 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14648/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14649/view Karl2002 you’re dead on. I was there for the munn and the final four riots, and this will (just like those did) turn into a witch hunt. the school and the city don’t care about the students. it’s all about the money. aren’t they making that blatantly obvious? you’re going to have the kids pay for the police overtime? what a joke. how about asking the tough questions like why is this happening? why here and not other places? they won’t do that. it’s far easier to blame and punish the out of control kids. i graduated from that school 8 years ago now, and the day i left campus i vowed i will never give a dime back. the administration is a whore to the enrollment number and the almighty dollar. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:38:16 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14649/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14650/view Ok, so really, how many people posting on this site were there? I have a friend that was there, a very honest friend I might add. His story is totally different from what everyone else says. People were happy the whole night, there was maybe a couple fight that broke out and THE CROWD broke it up because everyone was there to just have fun, not fight. Yes, there were some people that were throwing crap at the cops and into the crowd…with 80 police there, why couldn’t they have taken those people and charged them? The crowd was breaking itself up!! The number of people there at 2am was half of what it was at 1am and even more people were still leaving!! So the police storm the street at 2am and start pushing, shoving, and knocking people over giving them no chance to just move on their own. He saw one cop throw a flash bang directly at students when they are supposed to be throwing them up in the air….this obviously pissed people off….this is when students decided to throw things back at the police. Before they did that, you could see students smiling and taking pictures with the police. So then they start gassing everyone…. people turn around to run away/leave/whatever. surprise! once they rounded waters edge back onto Cedar they had nowhere to go because there were cops there throwing gas too, trapping students….So if you were there, or scrutinized the “facts” a little more, you might realize that this whole “riot” actually was a decently peaceful/non confrontational gathering until police decided it would be a good idea to provoke a crowd that was breaking up on it’s own! Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:39:30 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14650/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14651/view Again, no charges against the organizers. Nothing in the message to start the party had anything unlawful in it. They are only prosecuting those like the guy who wrote he tore down the sign, idiot, and those that post aftermath stuff admitting illegal activities. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:40:06 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14651/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14653/view Hey there – were those the same ones chanting “we want tear gas”. I was there. It was great until 1:15ish. But then so much glass was being thrown, students were getting hurt. Signs came down and people starting charging the police long before any flash grenades went off. Go ask the ACLU, they were there the whole time and had no problems this time. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:43:22 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14653/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14656/view Steve, if you were there then I’m sure you saw how drastically the crowd was decreasing by 2 right? So then with 80 cops there, why didn’t they just spread out in groups of 10 and just arrest those people? You really think that everyone there at 2, or even a quarter of the people still there were causing a problem? The police could have done a lot more to minimize the actions they ended up taking….that is what pissed people off. Then, since they did take the action they did, the justify it by making it sound as if everyone there was being unlawful…..that just isn’t the case. really most people were just there to watch and have fun. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:59:23 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14656/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14661/view hey there…technically, if you were just watching and having fun after the police gave their warning that it was an unlawful gathering…well, that’s being unlawful. But then again, i’m sure it was those evil police officers who had the poor students outnumbered 80 to 3000. Let’s say there were a lot fewer people there by 1:30…something like…1000. That’s still a lot of people. Students might have had a case back in 2005…but not this time. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:14:39 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14661/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14662/view The Cedarfest/End of the World parties have been going on since at least the late 70’s…every time its the same thing…everything is ok…then the police move in and crack heads…arrest the idiots that need it and people in the City & MSU Administration freak out… I know a lot of people don’t see it this way but… Number 1…its a free country and if people want to have a Cedarfest..there is NOTHING that can be done. The party will take place. The questions is what to do about it… The answer is…about what they did…allow it to go on….bust the idiots…and break up the part at 2 a.m. My only suggestion is to keep this in perspective…it wasn’t that bad… Note this link…a Cal Berkeley party TOTALLY out of control… http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2000/10/16/MN19008.DTL&type=printable Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:16:57 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14662/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14666/view The cops gave the warning at Mcdonalds….what a joke! how was anyone supposed to hear it? So pretty much the people that were there had no clue there even was a warning before police came and started pushing and knocking people over, throwing flash bangs AT the students, and gassing them….I can see your point about the numbers, but lets say half the people that were still there were “threatening”...so 500 (which is still too high of a number of trouble makers, but sure, i’ll give it to you) obviously they aren’t all right next to each other, so why couldn’t the police have gone out in groups and taken care of these people, or even given a fair warning that could be heard by all? Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:25:23 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14666/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14673/view Maybe it is becoming obvious by now that whenever MSU students gather in larger groups without corperate sponsorship the police will also be there because of past problems with such large crowds. It has now become a catch-22. If as a student you participate in these gatherings you run a high risk of a police encounter. If you’re a cop and a large crowd is gathering you are probably going to have to put on your gear and go deal with what will envariably happen. Happy drunks seeing large numbers of cops coming to harrass them. Cops seeing large numbers of students drinking and getting stupid. Confrontation, no one wins, everyone loses something. Yes other colleges have had huge groups gather without incident. This is no longer an option at MSU because of the past problems and any future gatherings will end up the same because of mutually assured destruction from both sides of the issue. The police see a large crowd that will probably riot as they usually do at MSU. The students see the police and resent their presence because all they’re doing is enjoying themselves. Maybe a little drunk, but hey it’s college not boot camp. In EL it will always lead to trouble now. It’s not liberals, it’s not conservatives, it’s not a police state, it’s not too much freedom. It’s just too damn bad it came to this. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:49:41 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14673/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14676/view I wasn’t at cedarfest but from what i gather, there were definitely some people that were out of control and were the minority. i will say this though, as a student of MSU, i have been discriminated against for being a student numerous times by the ELPD and PACE when i was completely innocent. i have never seen any organization with less integrity than these two. i have received a ticket for having ice on my sidewalk at three in the morning after it had snowed five inches and the entire street was covered with ice. I then inquired my forty-fifty year old permanent resident neighbors whether they got the ticket, all of them said no. One summer, none of my roommates or I was living in East Lansing yet somehow our trash can magically appeared at the bottom of our driveway in the middle of July. Apparently if you leave your trash can at the bottom of your driveway too long, it’s a 385 dollar fine per house resident which totaled over a thousand dollars for us. We had a party that broke up by one thirty and was over, yet the ELPD still found it necessary to bang on our door at three AM until one of us woke up and gave us a noise violation. So for all you naive and ignorant people out there taking the word of the ELPD in the press, you may want to rethink and possibly, i don’t know, have an open mind? i’d also like to throw out there that after i SOBERLY witnessed the 2005 events, i was actually terrified of every ELPD officer i came around. Say one word wrong to these guys and they’ll shoot a tear gas bomb AT you. So maybe they handled this “riot” properly, maybe they didn’t, point is, the ELPD isn’t exactly made up of people with strong moral fiber, much sense of justice or any sort of integrity. Fact is, unless you are a student that lives here and have been discriminated against, you don’t know how truly bad it is around here with police having an agenda against students. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:01:44 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14676/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14680/view Living in this world is really quite simple: If you want to be treated like an adult, act like one. If you want to be treated like a law abiding citizen, obey the law. If you want to be treated like a good neighbor, act like a good neighbor. If you want others to take responsibility for thier actions, take responsibility for yours. If you want to be treated like a free-thinking individual, think. If you want to be protected by the law, expect that others will be too. ... and if you have not learned this by the time you turn 18, you are still a child and have no busines in a university – anywhere. ... and by the way – Since when did living in a free country include the right to defy its laws with no consequences? That dear boys and girls is not a free country at all – it is an oligarchy – it is power held by an elite few who are free to defy the laws of the land. Something quite different and quite objectionable from a democratic society. I shudder to think of a day when a handful of spoiled little white boys who have been required to sacrifice nothing at any point in their lives get to set the laws and still choose not to follow them. Oh, wait a minute – that day is here. My bad – carry on – continue to throw your bottles and pull your pants down and swagger about in your prepubescent glory – you have been unjustifiably challenged and by dog, that must not be allowed to stand. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:13:41 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14680/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14681/view im glad that people posting later on this site have started to logically discuss things more than name call and speculate. i think it is sort of a catch 22 as beaumont says. this situation cannot be simplified into terms of black and white, right and wrong. students should be able to gather in large numbers whenever they wish, however officers should not be harassed and have things thrown at them. i was there, as a few posting here were, and i honestly think the cops had the attitude around 2am of “okay kids enough partying, lets all go to bed” and everyone was just sort of excited at the prospect of something big happening, so they hung around. there were definitely no attitudes of malice or hate…yes people chanted “f*** the police,” but when you have 30 or 40 guys drinking this sort of thing is not surprising. the vast majority of those present were more witnesses than participants (at least by around 2am). people should have left, but then, people should also not gawk at a horrible car crash, or move over when an officer has someone pulled over on the highway. that doesnt mean everyone is going to, and to the people not participating but present, should they be charged with police overtime and charges that will haunt them for years? the hard-nosed “let ‘em burn” mentality seems a bit stingy to me. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:15:42 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14681/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14690/view BEST PARTY EVER!!! Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:47:44 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14690/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14704/view The pinheads convinced me. Next year — let Cedar Village burn to the ground. Then the city can take over. And no more Cedar Fest. Pinheads so smart. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:32:52 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14704/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14718/view Lochgelly makes a good point about trying to stop parties and the MSU students & community does deserve something fun to do as a group. For example, The Palio di Siena in Italy is a big horse race that the whole city gets involved with. No riots during the fun and afterwards crime and civic unrest declines. It’s a pretty interesting sociological effect. Texas A&M has Bonfire, why can’t State have cool tradition like that? Cedar Fest and the “After Party Riot” is a lame tradition anyway. ASMSU & RHA should start something fun and positive that celebrates State for the students & alumni. That will also have the added benefit of drastically reducing involvement form non-students. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:28:19 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14718/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14740/view “Riot,” if thats what you want to call Cedar Fest 2008, it was a pretty damn pathetic riot. Nothing compared to the 99 one where windows of stores on Grand River were broken and cars were lit on fire. Get real. I would much rather go to a school that has a few riots than a school where their students get shot execution style. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:11:59 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14740/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14746/view “At Sunday’s press conference, Wibert said police also will prosecute people involved in the creation of the Facebook.com event planning Cedar Fest and those who made pro-riot posts on the page.” That is a load of crap. For one, do you honestly think that the creater’s of the event expected, or even wanted, a riot to ensue? And unless there was an actual threat on the event, how could someone get in trouble for advertising for a party. If the police charge the group creater’s, people will just come up with other forms of advertising for parties like this. However, the use of technology, such as pictures and videos (which are all over youtube) to identify those inciting a riot is completely fine. If you’re caught on tape there’s no denying your involvement. But pressing charges against people for advertising a party? Come on now, are you honestly that desperate? Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:58:47 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14746/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14792/view I can see where the ones arrested are gonna be the ones that take the hits. The rest will get away, Police and e. Lansing used the same crapola the last few times and got NADA. Sounds good for the press, but doesnt do NADA. I can believe how 80 cops couldnt have grabbed a good chunck of the drunks. All should have been off the streets. They are owned and maintained by all of us, not a bunch of drunks. All should have been carded and there should have been a permit to use the public streets. If there was a permit and if it was sanctioned by MooooU and the City, Its gonna be real hard to hold folks accountable. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:59:09 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14792/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14951/view As a current student of MSU, I feel sorry for those people who feel that having a good time means throwing things at police and destruction of property. That’s really sad that you have to do that to have a good time. And for those without a univeristy affiliation, thanks for giving us students who work so hard and didn’t want anything to do with the rioting a black eye. You all should be ashamed of yourself. For all you who think that the Facebook stuff is going to not hold up in court and think that stuff published on the internet isn’t grounds for legal action. How do you think that the police catch internet preditors? Ummm the internet. And that stuff holds up in court I may not agree with everything that our President says but her comment about future employers seeing this is true. People wont hire you if they see you deliberlty destroy property and celebrate it! So thanks for all of you few bad apples who just had to riot for no reason and give us a bad reputation. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:38:36 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/14951/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15162/view I can’t help but wonder if there is a better way to prevent riot-like events such as this one. In my mind, the fact that riots have occurred numerous times at MSU throughout the years points out one glaring fact: whatever we have done and are currently doing to prevent riots is not working. I have both anger and pity for the students that are arrested during events like this one… it makes me angry that they do things such as throwing bottles and ripping out street signs that are dangerous and costly to our community. However, I also have pity for them because they made a mistake that was probably greatly influenced not only by the alcohol that they may have consumed, but that their behavior may have also been swayed and intensified by mob mentality. We have all made mistakes. My question is, how can we show students that after-effects aren’t worth the party? Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:17:03 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15162/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15277/view As an MSU student I am sad to see spartangirls grammer skills are that bad and that she also is an MSU student. Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:11:06 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15277/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15426/view Is it just me, or does anyone else think the police are as much to blame as everyone else? They knew about the event days before and did nothing to stop it from turning into a riot. They could have dispersed the crowd before it became a crowd. The police could have been posted at Cedar and dispersed groups of 10 or more. Isn’t public alcohol consuption illegal? The minute they say a small group of students outside with a keg they could have stepped in. That would have prevented it from turning into a mob. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:46:36 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15426/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15427/view ‘truly amazed’ wrote: “As an MSU student I am sad to see spartangirls grammer skills are that bad and that she also is an MSU student.” As a human being I am saddened by the writing skills of MSU students who criticize the writing skills of other MSU students. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:51:06 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15427/view