Cedar Fest, a party held Saturday, attracted between 3,000 and 4,000 people, East Lansing police said. Police deployed flash bangs, smoke bombs and tear gas to disperse the crowd after objects such as bottles and cans were thrown.
MSU officials declined to issue an official statement Sunday regarding the Cedar Fest riot, which drew about 3,000 to 4,000 revelers.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said she will issue a statement in her university blog sometime today, but was spending Sunday assessing the situation.
“We appreciate very much the collaboration and cooperation of the city of East Lansing and the university, and we will be meeting tomorrow morning to look at appropriate actions to be taken,” Simon said.
MSU vice president of university relations Terry Denbow said there was not a communication gap between the university and community, citing that he made himself available to media Sunday, although the university did not hold a press conference.
“Sometimes, having human beings available to talk is more important than official statements,” he said. “But there’s a time for those, and they’ll be coming, too.”
Denbow said Lee June, vice president for student affairs and services, will be working with students beginning today to determine the best plan for dealing with potential riot situations.
June couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday evening, but spoke with The State News while observing the riot.
“I hope that the university and the students can come together and have a dialogue, so that (students) can have a gathering and do it in such a way that they can enjoy, but it doesn’t cross the line,” June said. “The university does not want to prevent gatherings and people having fun.”
MSU Trustee Dorothy Gonzales said trustees haven’t discussed the riot, but she expected they would in the near future. The board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 18.
“Especially when people start getting hurt and things get out of hand, it becomes an issue we need to address,” Gonzales said.
Denbow said there are several key issues MSU officials need to review, including whether Facebook.com was used to incite revelers.
“Should somebody using that be held responsible? How can someone be held responsible? It’s a legitimate question,” he said. “There are some postings on (Facebook) which clearly are calls to action.”
Although previous riots at MSU generally were in response to athletic celebrations, Denbow said there didn’t appear to be a reason for the Cedar Fest riot.
“Clearly, there was a small group of people who weren’t going to leave until they were teargassed,” he said. “They actively sought and provoked it, whether it was for a right of passage or whatever.”
Campus editor Craig Trudell contributed to this report.
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