Changes made to parking in the Cedar Village area left some students without a place to park following Saturday's disturbances.
Students have been allowed to park from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. all year across the street from Waters Edge Apartments, but the signs were temporarily changed Saturday to say parking wasn't allowed.
The signs were put in place with the expectation that students would go into the streets surrounding Cedar Village, said Lt. Kim Johnson of the East Lansing Police Department.
The signs were changed back Wednesday morning, but Johnson did not know the exact time.
"That was approved to keep damages down if students started things in the area, and that turned out to be true," Johnson said.
Some students said they thought it was unfair to change the signs without notifying students.
"Parking is already a big problem, let alone when they do something like that," communication junior Derik Redding said.
Redding said he saw that all the cars parked in the spots along Waters Edge Drive on Monday had tickets on them.
Johnson said as long as the signs saying no parking is allowed, students must obey them.
"If they parked there when the signs were up, those tickets are still valid," Johnson said.
Johnson also said he believed East Lansing is not required to notify individuals of changes to parking, but he was not certain.
Students can try to appeal the tickets by submitting a written report to the court - either denying responsibility for the ticket or pleading guilt with an explanation as to why they don't deserve the tickets. The back of the parking ticket also explains appeal options.
"If they plead guilt with an explanation then they admit that they parked illegally, but there are situations that they want taken into consideration," Michele Fezatte, deputy court clerk for East Lansing said.
The ticket is placed on hold, and the fine is delayed on the day the letter is received Fezatte said. People can either send in the letter or drop it off to the city. They will be notified later whether their appeal has been rejected or denied.
Tickets range from $15 for meter violations to $30-40 for parking tickets.
