Fires, flashing and felonies, oh my. The students involved in the March 30, 2003, riots following MSU's loss to Texas in the NCAA men's basketball tournament probably had no idea they would later be poster children for how not to celebrate a sporting event.

Almost six months after the riots that once again brought MSU into the national spotlight, some students are paying for their night of celebration. About 2,000 people crowded the streets of East Lansing and campus, causing $40,000 in damages. One of those students, Daniel Callton, could have continued studying hospitality business at MSU before his sentencing in Ingham County Circuit Court on Wednesday.

Now he is one of the first March rioters to be banned for two years from attending any state university. Accounting freshman Miguel Miranda was also involved in the riots but was not banned from the university. Miranda was instead sentenced to three years probation, $6,983 in restitution and seven days in county jail.

The ban should apply to anyone and everyone who is convicted of serious crimes related to rioting. Callton and Miguel were both sentenced for felony unlawful assembly and misdemeanors for malicious destruction of property, yet Miguel is still a student and Callton is not. Miguel was also sentenced for misdeamenor arson. The riots were an embarrassment to MSU and its community. A two-year ban from public universities is a harsh punishment, but something has to be done to discourage future illegal activity on campus.

Ban or no ban, the students who were arrested during and after the riots are still paying for their actions. They are paying financially, academically and emotionally for one night of revelry.

Hopefully they will be an example to people participating in future celebrations to remain calm and exercise the right kind of Spartan spirit at sporting events, whether home or away.