The East Lansing City Council has already rained on the parade of party-loving students and ASMSU's umbrella is too small to stop the flood.
Under the city's revised party-noise ordinance, offenders face a minimum of three days in jail and a $500 fine for a misdemeanor offense and a $1,000 fine for a civil infraction.
Four party hosts drowned in the city council's storm last weekend as they were cited with misdemeanor offenses.
As the puddles get deeper, MSU's undergraduate student government has finally stepped up to try to calm the storm.
A student task force formed by ASMSU met Thursday night to discuss the ordinance and its plans to respond to the city.
Officials said a public forum and a student petition might be methods of getting the city council's attention.
ASMSU will take its stance on the ordinance this week, but the organization should have taken a stance when the new ordinance was proposed.
The city council already side-stepped the University Student Commission, which is there to create dialogue between students and city officials.
It's hard to believe city officials will suddenly take to heart what ASMSU has to say, when the organization finally decides to say it.
Councilmember Beverly Baten said she'll listen to students' concerns, but she doesn't "see any reason for changes."
And although a forum and a student petition will garner some interest, these types of initiatives take a substantial amount of time to accomplish.
During this time, more party hosts will simply fall victim to the ordinance.
The ordinance took effect Sept. 5, just 10 days after the start of classes.
Any organization's efforts to try and level with the council should have been quick before council members tried to make as many students as possible turn the volume down.
There's a small chance the council might reason with the students. If it does, it should realize who it's listening to.
Students have as much right to voice their concerns for this ordinance as residents who own homes in East Lansing.
And councilmembers have just as much duty to listen.
Three days in jail - plus tacking on at least $500 to the already high cost of being a college student - is too harsh a penalty for a trivial crime.
Supposed "party indicators" include kegs, live entertainment, entrance fees, outdoor music and more than one person for every 20 square feet of the property.
Whether it's a huge family reunion that likes to play music or a small get-together with the radio on and a keg, it's up to the officer to determine if the party host is violating the ordinance under what the city defines as noise.
The rain continues to fall on East Lansing, washing away students' desires to enjoy themselves. And with student leaders slow to respond, all students can do now is pray for a drought.
