Almost everyone agrees what happened last April 2-3 was a disaster.

The events that took place after the MSU men's basketball team lost in the Final Four were a shame to the city and students.

The police were overly aggressive. Some people acted irresponsibly.

After months of discussion about those events and what went wrong, East Lansing police and MSU police are implementing new policies on the use of force to make sure future celebrations are handled better.

In places where large groups of people gather after wins, such as Cedar Village, police plan on using a "softer" approach and trying to interact with students.

Gone or reduced would be the lines of officers in full riot gear, tear-gas canisters flying all over.

They could be replaced with police officers who are easily identifiable and who don't look like they plan on launching an assault.

In the words of East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert, the approach will be "friendlier."

Officials from the MSU and East Lansing police departments said they have been the harshest critics of what happened last April and hope the changes will let students know they are there to protect them, not hurt them.

The plan sounds good on paper.

Both departments have rightfully acknowledged the situation could be handled better if officers are approachable and nonthreatening.

What will determine whether a celebration is safe or not is how well the plan is followed during an actual celebration.

It's not hard to imagine, in the middle of a crushing crowd, an officer could panic and not follow the process.

But both police departments seem willing to improve the situation between themselves and the community. They want people to realize that they are there to keep everyone safe and don't want to resort to using tear gas or other means of force.

What they will need to do is make sure people hear that message. Both Wibert and MSU police Chief Jim Dunlap plan on meeting with student groups to talk about the new policy.

They also need to let fans know how they can celebrate safely.

Those celebrating need to act responsibly as well. Throwing bottles at officers and starting fires are clearly not acceptable ways to have a good time.

Wibert and Dunlap need to make sure people understand what things they can do to celebrate without getting in trouble or arrested.

If they are successful no student or resident should be surprised by what happens.

And they need to do it before the NCAA tournament.

If things go according to plan this year, maybe the basketball team and its fans can both come out as winners.