Michigan State President Simon Responds to Cedar Fest Riot

Eric Pender — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:48:00 +0000

Michigan State University president Lou Anna Simon posted a statement today on her blog reacting to the disturbances of Cedar Fest from this past weekend.

Particularly interesting from President Simon’s statement are the references to how social media and the Internet played a part in orchestrating the event. For all the students who fail to recognize how an event such as this impacts the image of Michigan State University across the state and across the globe, President Simon’s remarks are most poignant when quoted at length:

“The scenes of rioting and violence in the media and on the internet will be the only introduction for many across the state and around the country to East Lansing and MSU. It may also be the introduction that prospective employers have to future job applicants, which is another use for the technology employed by those who encouraged the weekend’s events. Social networks such as Facebook and You Tube are increasingly used by human resource professionals to check the backgrounds and behaviors of potential employees. The repercussions for some attendees of Cedar Fest may not come today or tomorrow, but may be felt in the not too distant future when they embark on their first job search after graduation.“

I know first hand that employers use the Internet to learn about prospective employees including social networking sites and site that feature user-submitted content. I know, because I’ve used them myself for that very purpose. Your online reputation is just as important as your offline reputation, in some cases it is more important. Why do I need to know what your references say about you when I can go online and find out what YOU say about you?

Your degree is only worth as much as the school representing it. And that school is only as good as the students who have come through, and those that are at the school at the time. A degree is not merely a document proclaiming the consummation of the academic program you participated in. It is a living document that changes with age. Don’t believe me? What if your school closed it’s doors tomorrow? No more classes, no more research, no more alumni. Your degree, over time, would become worthless. The circumstances that are related to your school over time affect the perception of your degree, and thus, the perception of you as an individual.

President Simon’s statement also indicates that such social networking sites may be used to by the East Lansing police department to identify students engaging in illegal activity during Cedar Fest and making further arrests. ”A meeting was held…,” Ms. Simon’s post states, “…to begin the process of using technology to identify others who may be arrested subsequently.”

“The reckless behavior of the individuals who set in motion…the unlawful activity that occurred at ‘Cedar Fest’ will have consequences,” Ms. Simon’s statement says, indicating that the individual that used Facebook to organize the event may face charges from the university.

I’ve tried to find as much decent video of Cedar Fest as I could. Below are a few clips I think are worth posting. The first clip appears to be the b-roll of WLNS footage of Cedar Fest.

This second one is probably the best footage that I’ve found. I just wish they didn’t have the musical overlay.

I’m still looking for the URL for the Facebook event for Cedar Fest. If you have the URL, or even just screenshots, please send them along.

At Michigan State, Yet Another Riot…

Eric Pender — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:21:00 +0000

On Saturday night, Michigan State University police arrested 52 people in connection with Cedar Fest, 28 of them students of the university.

Police used a total of 64 nonlethal grenades (smoke, flash-bang and stingball) and 13 rounds of tear gas to contain the crowd of more than 3,000.

The East Lansing Police Department has already formally declared Saturday nights’ event a riot. The story is on the home page of CNN (see article here). Michigan State has suffered yet another black eye, although I’m not certain whether this one should fall on the shoulders of the students or the East Lansing police department.

This will only serve to drive more of a wedge between the city of East Lansing and the students of Michigan State. It will probably draw more support for the East Village redevelopment project being planned for the Cedar Village area. This project is expected to create more expensive housing in the area, possibly outside of students budgets, and thereby displacing them from the area. East Lansing mayor Vic Loomis has said that he will seek monetary compensation for damages from those who where arrested in the event. Stiff words from a man whose city’s economy depends on the university next door.

From various comments I’ve read around the web about Cedar Fest, it seems clear that many current students don’t understand the negative effects an event like this has on a university. This school, the one that you will represent when you go into the work place, and the one that represents you when you put Michigan State University on your resume, now carries the stigma of the “school where the riots happen.” It’s novel when you’re a student, it’s a disgrace when you’re an alumni. And it seems like it only takes one negative event to displace the effects of ten positive ones.

Yet it’s too early for me to place blame on the students and others that attended Cedar Fest. To be sure, the East Lansing police department has a reputation for overreacting to large gatherings in their jurisdiction. We hope that the lessons of 1999, 2003 and 2005 have been learned. Perhaps they have not.

Also interesting is how social networking site Facebook seems to have played a part in this as well. Various articles report that a Cedar Fest group or event was posted on Facebook and that at least 6,000 people indicated that they would attend (see here and here) I’m curious if there will be any fallout from this to the tune of discussion about blocking social networking sites on campus. I doubt such action would be taken. Certainly resurrecting a 1986 party where 85 people were arrested and 33 were injured is no small feat.

Does anyone have any info on the 1986 Cedar Fest? Was it just a bunch of drunken debauchery, or was it a more organized affair? Does anyone have the URL to the Facebook event page for Cedar Fest? Also, if anyone who was there has any first-hand accounts, I’m interested to hear them.

Eric Pender » ELPD

Michigan State President Simon Responds to Cedar Fest Riot

At Michigan State, Yet Another Riot…