And to think, the East Lansing City Council will take this seriously.

Seven months worth of meetings to come to the conclusion that no one is to blame for the April 2-3 disturbances and produce recommendations that look fine on paper, but aren't earth shattering.

But at least it was a diverse commission.

According to independent commission and City Councilmember Mark Meadows, the split decision of the commission on whether or not to assess blame demonstrated "that the commission was truly independent and diverse."

So?

What is the point of being independent and diverse if it's impossible to bring those diverse opinions together to reach some sort of conclusion? Diversity in this situation is great, but it doesn't mean much to bring a bunch of people in from different backgrounds and then have them talk in circles just for the sake of discussion.

It's good other commission members joined university physician Beth Alexander in adding their own opinions on the events to the final report drafted by the commission.

Hopefully, the City Council will review these added statements carefully when they consider the commission's final report.

It is clear the commission could not reach a consensus on the issue of blame and having personal statements reflecting these different opinions will hopefully force the City Council to consider it carefully.

"I don't care who or what was to 'blame'," Meadows wrote. "I think it is pointless to establish who was wrong and who was right." Instead, he wants to focus on keeping future celebrations positive.

What could be more critical in accomplishing that goal than establishing exactly what went wrong and who acted inappropriately in April?

The fact is there are students who felt they were wronged by police that night. To see this, all you need to do is read some of the letters The State News printed in early April.

The commission has dragged on long enough to get students to lose interest, but it doesn't mean the issue is resolved.

It will be in the forefront of people's minds in April as the NCAA Tournament moves along. How will students who feel police attacked them with tear gas and were never held accountable for it, react?

Maybe it will deter people from going out altogether.

That isn't right. Students should gather to support their teams without fear of being deemed riotous.

If they do go out, what will happen when crowds of students gather in the streets and encounter police again? Will we be here this time next year discussing another independent commission, convened to discuss another "disturbance?"

This issue must be resolved. The distrust and even hostility between students, the city and police has to be healed or there might be another night of disturbances.

But hey, maybe next year's commission will be diverse, too.