This is in response to Omar Ahmad's letter to the editor concerning the banning of any NCAA sports teams from postseason play if their school is involved in a "riot" ("Teams should incur punishment for riots" SN 4/4). I've heard a lot of less than good ideas thrown around in the opinion sections, but this has to be one of the worst yet.
I'm writing regarding your "Spring Fling" article (SN 4/4), in which you profiled spring sports here at MSU.
I completely agree with Tim Brumbaugh ("Officers to blame for inciting disturbance" SN 4/3), and I am glad to see someone has finally offered a clear perspective on this sort of police misbehavior.
To remedy the rampant security concerns on MSU's campus, perhaps armored guards should be brought in to man residence halls.
Our government fights a lot of wars. We have the war on drugs, the war on poverty and, of course, the war on terrorism, just to name a few. The problem with these wars is that they're wars against ideas.
I am writing in response to the articles written about the student football cheering section. First of all, the name Gang Green was suggested to us most often by members of the previous year's section.
I propose the university and athletic department enact a strict no-riot policy, where the consequences are realized by the entire student body, as well as all fans and alumni. If students start a riot as a result of an MSU athletic event, the university should pull itself out of the following year's NCAA tournament.
In response to the editorial entitled "Excessive Force" (SN 4/3), I would like to clarify the facts.
Our most humble apologies to state House Speaker Rick Johnson. It seems that when we scolded the LeRoy Republican for making offhanded comments labeling college students as hoodlums.
As you read this, men and women are fighting in a desert on the other side of the planet. Maybe you agree with the reason that they were deployed, maybe not.
While the actions of Sunday night rioters were malicious and should not go unpunished, those who took to campus and city streets in rage were not the only wrongdoers in the melee.
I am writing in response to all of the people who feel the police unfairly used tear gas or used too much of it ("Police: Tear gas necessary despite bystander presence" SN 4/2). There is a simple way to avoid tear gas all together.
Never in my three years at this school have I been more embarrassed to be a Spartan. On a day when I couldn't be more proud of our Spartans for their efforts on the court, I witness such useless destruction.
The MSU win Friday sparked a peaceful celebration which provoked police to arrest several people for things as minor as the following: one young man with an open can of beer who debated with officers about pouring it out, a student who questioned officers why they were arresting his friend and a gentleman who was merely tackling his roommate in celebration of victory. On Sunday evening, the instances that occurred truly proved "two wrongs don't make a right." Although unruly students might have been destructive, the police reaction was completely out of control.
I was in East Lansing on Sunday and was appalled at the activities of a group that night. That group: the police.
Was the picture on Monday's front cover from Baghdad or East Lansing? For shame. Louis Rabaut French and Spanish senior
Students and residents in East Lansing have little time to cope with the heart-breaking costs of war in Iraq as Sunday's juvenile melee on and near campus has left the community mulling the cost of a worthless riot. Despite budgets burdened by the state's broken economy, MSU and East Lansing officials say they are willing to pay up to $2,500 in rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of participants in Sunday night's riot.
I am ashamed of and appalled by the actions of a select few MSU students for their post-game "celebrations" on both Friday and Sunday nights.
Why did I know that after Texas beat Tom Izzo's Spartans the students at MSU would find the loss to be yet another excuse to riot?
Until Friday night, I had always regarded sports events and fans with an air of detachment and slight cynicism.