Nobody did anything.

A crowd of 3,000 people gathered in the streets and were met by police with tear gas and pepper spray. But it was nobody's fault.

The Independent commission in the April 2-3 disturbances has chosen not to place responsibility. The commission has been meeting since May to investigate the incident and failed to find the cause of the events that night.

If the commission refuses to attribute responsibility for the events, what was the point?

East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows, who led the commission, said the group's purpose was not to blame anyone, but to create recommendations for future events.

Right. The purpose of this commission was to make angry students and residents believe the situation would be investigated and resolved.

What a joke.

If the finger can be pointed at both students and police, then they should attribute the blame to both. Holding guilty parties responsible for the melee is the first step toward healing the rift the disturbances created.

Police who launched tear gas at students, who were gathered peacefully or trying to walk home, must be held accountable for their actions.

Likewise, students who refused to obey police requests to disperse or threw rocks and bottles at officers should be punished.

Although East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert apologized to those who were inadvertently caught up in the mess, it still doesn't reveal the cause.

Without finding the cause for the disturbances, the independent commission has done nothing to help the city and students move on.

How can they be expected to make recommendations to prevent future disturbances if they can't determine what caused the last one?

From the outset, the commission lacked representation from the average student who was affected that night. It heard few testimonies until last week.

The only student representation came from ASMSU members Andrew Schepers and Derek Wallbank. Schepers missed at least seven meetings.

The city seems to already have placed blame mostly on students. Those arrested during the disturbances are required to pay restitution to the city with a $1,733 fine.

Nothing says "it's your fault," better than sending out a bill.

It's clear from the 5-4 vote on the issue of whether to place blame on anyone the commission itself was torn. The four people in favor of assessing blame had the right idea.

Without publicly holding the people responsible for the events that night, the commission accomplished nothing.