Some East Lansing City Council members are pointing fingers in the wrong direction. Instead of reaching out to the thousands of MSU students who live in the city, some officials seem to want to blame them for the city’s problems.
At its Tuesday meeting, the council placed MSU students in the center of a debate concerning an increase in noise complaints, which have risen at least 32 percent over last year. Police have issued about 99 complaints since Welcome Week.
At the core of many problems in the city - including noise, destruction of property and violence - is the underlying issue of alcohol misuse. But city leaders need to stop playing the blame game and work with the entire community to solve these problems - and last we checked, MSU students were part of that community. The council needs to create an atmosphere that welcomes students to the debate and take an active role in their neighborhoods. The message sent Tuesday, however, was very different.
Councilmember Bill Sharp, who has said the city is in a near-riot atmosphere, has called for MSU to create an off-campus code of conduct, which would allow the it to punish students for behavior in the city, and to notify parents of any student who gets an alcohol violation.
Sharp also told members of MSU’s undergraduate student government that they “have a real responsibility” give warnings about out-of-control parties. He said the group is “missing the boat” by not policing students within the city. In actuality, it is Sharp and others in who share his views that are “missing the boat.”
It is not and should not be MSU’s duty to police students off campus. Nor should it be the role of the university to violate students’ privacy by sending a note home to Mom and Dad - who might not be paying their student’s tuition anyway.
And while ASMSU should take an active role in facilitating discussions and working on programs to get students involved in the city, it is not the student government’s job to be off-campus police.
Some in the city seem to be overreacting to problems East Lansing has been dealing with since it was appropriately known as Collegeville. That doesn’t mean that city leaders - working with students - shouldn’t try to fix those problems, but it does mean they need to avoid a “sky-is-falling” attitude about them.
It would suit those most critical of students to remember the facts:
• East Lansing police Chief Louis Muhn said a lot of this year’s complaints involve nonstudents, and it is often students who report problems.
• Members of MSU’s Interfraternity Council have adopted policies to help keep any fraternity parties under control, and on numerous occasions chapter houses have called police themselves to break up parties. Some hosts of large house parties also have done the same
• MSU police Chief Jim Dunlap has reported fewer alcohol-related offenses on campus so far this year.
• The last time there was a riot in East Lansing, nearly half of those arrested did not attend MSU.
And although there has been an increase in noise complaints, there might be a simple explanation: With five consecutive weeks of home football games and unusually nice weather, more parties are bound to be held this year. In addition, it’s important to remember few people were in the mood to party a year ago as the nation dealt with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Excessive noise, large celebrations and mobs of traveling partiers destroying property are problems in East Lansing, and something does need to be done to curb them.
But in themselves, that does not mean another riot is brewing. MSU students learned a lot from 1999.
Unfortunately, placing blame for these problems on MSU students only will foster a more hostile atmosphere. The East Lansing City Council needs to get on the boat and stop pointing fingers.
Any solution to the problems facing the city needs to be the result of a positive, unified effort between East Lansing officials, permanent residents and students. After all, this is a place we all call home.
