Members of the Residence Halls Association are taking a proactive step toward making sure the April 2-3 disturbances aren't repeated.

Members of RHA were invited to meet with MSU police to answer questions they might have about future disturbances and how to prevent another one — especially in March and April during college basketball finals.

Hopefully their discussion will include plans on making sure what happened last year — when many students were teargassed unnecessarily and police used too much force — doesn't happen this year.

RHA should definitely pursue this opportunity and ask for student involvement along the way.

Some changes in police procedure could come from the East Lansing City Council, which is considering suggestions received from the independent commission which reviewed the events.

Many of those suggestions include having a designated party spot and making sure police are easily identifiable.

RHA is attempting to move forward instead of trying to place blame for what happened last year. Although no one should forget what happened last year, it's better to try and find new solutions for this year instead of lingering in the past.

By meeting with police and finding out what exactly they want to do to make sure things stay calm, RHA is taking a step toward improving relations between students and police.

It would be great if RHA could find a way to include questions or concerns students might have to relate to MSU police.

That way, the meeting would help students who aren't sure if they can celebrate a success the basketball team might have this year.

A meeting between RHA officials and MSU police might also help get more information and understanding about students' needs and concerns — something the independent commission and East Lansing Police Department didn't accomplish.

After the meeting with police, RHA needs to make sure the responses they received are made accessible to students.

The whole point of RHA meeting with police should be connecting student concerns with police, who could hear them and decide how they are going to handle things differently this year.

RHA's meeting with the police can go a long way in ensuring officials understand students might still have questions, and deserve answers.

Making sure everyone is on the same page will hopefully keep this spring safe, happy and full of celebration.