It's gratifying to see that the independent commission formed to review the April 2-3 disturbances has set to work. Last Friday, they reviewed three hours of video footage from the event.

The footage shown appeared to justify complaints that police overreacted to the crowd, but officers such as East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert claim that it doesn't tell the entire story. According to the police, it doesn't show the injuries incurred by officers.

If this is so, then the police should come to these meetings prepared with counterevidence, not just verbal claims. After all, students have plenty of verbal claims of their own. What the police lack, by and large, is a body of evidence that clearly shows when and where illegal actions took place. If officers claim rocks and bottles were thrown at them - which seems likely on some scale - they need to have that on tape.

This isn't too much to ask, considering that the police even commissioned a helicopter to survey the city during the disturbances. Video footage is not hard to obtain nor is it expensive, as numerous students demonstrated with camera phone and digital camera footage.

Until this year, MSU's history of disturbances largely justified the police actions on April 2-3. Now, a different precedent has been set by responsible students, and it's time for the police to follow suit. Video footage from this year shows not overturned cars but nonviolent protesters being shot with pepper spray while sitting in the street.

The police justify this by claiming such people were part of an unlawful civil disturbance. Until they can prove with indisputable evidence that the April 2-3 disturbances warranted their actions, they cannot simply claim that any and all gatherings are unlawful. Where do they draw the line?

A second question is to what extent the American Civil Liberties Union will become involved. The ACLU representative on the commission questioned police actions after watching the videos, which might spark some action.

Above all, student interest and involvement still is crucial to improving the situation for the future.

The commission's 8 a.m. meeting time seems to work against this. The obligation to go to early morning classes or jobs means that many students couldn't have attended even if they were interested. It's bad enough it is a summer term and many students are gone. The independent review commission is meant to provide information to community members as well as the police, therefore, it doesn't make sense that it was scheduled at a time likely to result in a low profile. We suggest that the videos be broadcast on East Lansing's public TV channel to make up for this.

The videos taken during the April 2-3 disturbances are important evidence and can't be ignored, or made to seem better by viewing them in a different order, as Wibert suggested.

Whether the police like it or not, they can't sweep this one under the rug.