Some students are saying the $1,733 in restitution attached to most guilty pleas for April 2-3 disturbance-related charges is ridiculous, while East Lansing officials say it's what the city is owed.
The East Lansing City Attorney's Office calculated the cost to the city for the disturbances to be $69,293.10. Part of that money comes from $32,355 in East Lansing Police and Fire departments' overtime hours, clean-up in the city and damage to a sculpture. The city also was charged $33,663 in overtime for other police agencies excluding MSU and Michigan State police, and $3,275.10 for private property damage, said Tom Yeadon, assistant city attorney.
"The total restitution we had calculated was $69,293.10 and we had a total number of 40 defendants," Yeadon said. "We divided 40 into that and came up with that number."
Yeadon said the city won't get the full amount because some people aren't paying the full restitution.
"It's already not going to come out even, but we can't get more from other people because some won't pay the full amount," he said.
Zoology senior Benjamin Wickerham said he went through six months of court proceedings after his arrest for jostling and obstructing a roadway, and is now in the process of paying his $1,733.
"The price tag was ridiculous, but that was what I had to do to get out of it," Wickerham said. "I learned it pretty much boiled down to money in one way or another."
East Lansing Deputy City Manager Jean Golden said she didn't know how much the city had received yet in restitution, but she suspected the money was just beginning to come in.
The city paid all of its bills through a general fund, and now will begin putting the money back, but some things can't be solved with money, she said.
"The costs that can never be reimbursed is the damage it does to the image of all students at MSU and to the city, and to our relationships with one another," Golden said. "Most students had nothing to do with this disturbance and unfortunately, they are damaged by these kinds of events, and that can never be reimbursed."
Margaret Harding can be reached at hardin42@msu.edu.
