During finals week, nearly 1,500 campus bike riders discovered bright orange tags on their bikes, issued by the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety. The tags were left on bicycles found in violation of university requirements.
Violations include bicycles unlocked, unregistered or those with expired registry or in inoperable condition.
According to the MSU ordinance on bicycles, it is unlawful to operate or possess an unregistered bicycle or a bicycle without lights, mirrors or brakes.
Bicycles are expected to be locked at all times, although it is unlawful to lock a bicycle in an area not designated for such use.
Each orange tag details the bicycle's violation and an expected date of impoundment. It serves as a warning for the owner to return the bicycle to university standards before it is taken by the department.
The tag is also an indicator for the department to collect bicycles that are abandoned.
"There is a tremendous amount of property abandoned every year, such as cars, bikes and motorcycles, and it is our duty to take care of these items," MSU police Deputy Chief Mike Rice said.
For plant breeding and genetics masters student Kaori Ando, the bicycle-tagging strategy was only a scare tactic.
"I think they put the orange sticky just to scare people (into registering their bike), and I don't think that is fair," Ando said.
Also, if a tag is discarded, a student is not able to retrieve the bicycle because descriptions of the bikes weren't taken at the time the tags were issued.
This is due to the large number of bikes on campus this summer.
Now the school year has drawn to a close, and the date of collection stated on the tag has passed.
"The date presented was an approximate date, and we were delayed by weather and staffing issues," Rice said.
The current retrieval process will continue until all remaining bikes still found in violation of university standards are collected. The collection campaign runs until the end of July.
Bicycles in violation are first retrieved in academic areas before summer classes start. Bicycles in residence hall areas will be collected prior to the start of conferences, when different organizations come and stay on campus during the summer.
Once impounded, the bike is taken to the MSU police department, where the owner can claim their property after presenting bicycle information and an $8 collection fee.
The owner is then expected to register the bicycle through the parking office. Registry is free of cost and is valid for two years.
Under state and local ordinances, after 30 days, irretrievable bicycles are taken to the MSU Surplus Store located in the Salvage Building on Harrison Avenue for restoration and relocation.
The Surplus Store also is involved with the MSU Bike Project, an effort to provide free bikes for hundreds of riders on campus.
