All that planning and we'll have to keep waiting to try it out.
MSU and East Lansing police were ready this year for a riot, disturbance or other shenanigans that could have taken place during the men's basketball season.
They were ready to implement new changes to how they handle large groups; changes which were made after the April 2-3 disturbances of last year. Thousands of students poured into the streets after the men lost in the Final Four.
There were accusations police officers used too much force and chemical ammunitions such as tear gas.
An investigation was launched, and months later, suggestions were made to make sure April 2-3 didn't happened again.
Police would approach students in a friendlier manner, make police officers easily identifiable and use chemical munitions as a last resort. And lately the joint city and university Celebrations Committee was working on preparing for a disturbance by starting a campuswide campaign to encourage students to celebrate safely — hopefully without burning things.
But much like the men's basketball season, those plans are being put on hold, waiting to be used until next year.
And nothing happened on Friday when the men lost in the first round of the playoffs. Students showed that they can handle themselves appropriately in the face of a loss.
Now thousands of fliers telling students how to behave are being packed up for storage, but that doesn't mean their plans should go there as well.
There's always a chance something — riot, disturbance or whatever — could happen, which is why both police departments should still be working on those plans.
They have a long break but should use the year ahead to further polish and perfect plans to prevent future student disturbances. They can't forget all the work that went into the suggestions.
We've been urging the police departments to work quickly to make changes, lest the basketball season hit us unprepared. But now they have plenty of time to make sure their changes are going to work.
They also don't have to wait until there's a disturbance to implement some of the changes.
One important change that is being made is to make police officers appear friendlier to people. Creating better relations between police and the community is something that needs to start now.
Both police departments wanted the chance to prove that students could celebrate without violence this year.
If those departments work to create better relations with the community throughout the year, no on will have to prove anything next year.
Keep working.
