After the police made 43 arrests and teargassed thousands of people on Saturday, ASMSU leaders said the law enforcement's riot-prevention tactics were uncalled for.

Student Assembly Chairperson Andrew Schepers said he was not in East Lansing at the time of the celebration uproar, but information provided to him by staff suggested that students were celebrating in a nonviolent manner.

"From all the information given to me, it sounds like the police were setup to stir something up," he said. "It seemed like they weren't there for crowd control, but there to disperse groups of people right away, which is kind of sad."

Police estimated as many as 4,500 people flooded the streets of East Lansing on Saturday after the men's basketball team lost to North Carolina in the Final Four. Most people congregated in the Cedar Village area and near M.A.C. and Albert avenues. Police released as many as 1,000 cans of tear gas on the crowds.

Student Assembly External Vice Chairperson Andrew Bell, who was in East Lansing, agreed with Schepers, adding that the police's use of tear gas was not the best idea.

"I don't think we got out of control," he said. "People were just bummed we lost."

Bell said he understands the caution, but said the extensive use of the tear gas implied that the situation was "out-of-control and the police couldn't handle it any other way."

"There is no way you could ever think this was a riot," he said. "No one enjoys being teargassed. It should have been the last resort."

Schepers said ASMSU will act on the matter and students will be encouraged to voice their concerns to the student government.

"I'm putting together a survey right now," he said, adding that the money for the survey came from his own pocket.

Schepers said students will be asked to fill out the survey online at SurveyMonkey.com, so that he can effectively present the students' point of view to MSU's administration.

The survey, which is expected to be released sometime today, will request students to answer questions such as, "What did you do for the game?" or "Did you consume alcohol, if so, how much?"

Schepers said it also will ask students to give their opinions on how police reacted and how they feel ASMSU should respond.

He also said a second version of the survey will require students who live in residence halls to answer questions such as, "Was your residence hall mentor available for questions and answers?"

Schepers said the assembly also is planning to have an open forum with university officials in which students can voice their opinions to the administration. Students will be notified on the date of the forum.

Former ASMSU member Matt Weingarden, who was Student Assembly Chairperson in 2002-03, said the assembly should work with the president's office, the city of East Lansing and other departments within the university to address the situation.

Weingarden was on the Student Assembly during the 2003 riot, in which about 2,000 people flooded East Lansing streets, causing about $40,000 in damages. The riot began after the MSU men's basketball team lost to Texas in the Elite Eight.

But Weingarden said it's best if the assembly sparks communication with appropriate university and city officials and "moves from there."