Michigan State University student riot
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The Michigan State University student riot is an event that took place on and around the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan on the night of March 27, 1999. Following a loss by MSU's basketball team to Duke University in the NCAA Final Four, thousands of students and non-students (estimates range from 5,000 - 10,000 people) gathered around the Grand River Ave. area of East Lansing. Eventually this mass of people rioted; breaking windows, overturning cars, and starting bonfires in the streets. Local police called in reinforcements from as far away as Howell, Michigan to help quell the unrest and utilized tear gas and riot gear to control the crowds. By the time local law enforcement regained control, over $150,000 in damage had been done to the campus and surrounding city [1]. In the aftermath of the riots, Michigan passed a law barring anyone convicted of rioting from attending publicly funded universities in Michigan [2].
[edit] Other Notable Civil Disturbances
Though the March 27 1999, incident was the most serious riot to happen in East Lansing, it was by no means the first or last incidence of civil disturbance:
- Grand River Avenue antiwar riots of 1972.[citation needed]
- Cedarfest riots of the late 1980s/early 1990s.[citation needed]
- September 6, 1997: 500 partygoers in the Gunson Street neighborhood confronted police, throwing bottles and damaging police vehicles.[citation needed]
- May 1, 1998: An estimated 3000 students protesting the ban on alcohol at Munn Field tailgate parties resulted in police firing tear gas at the crowd.[citation needed]
- April 2, 2005: An estimated 2,000 students and non-students took to the streets immediately following the men's basketball team's loss to UNC in the final four, causing an estimated $8,275 in damage to the city of East Lansing and costing area law enforcement an estimated $190,389 in expenses. The April 2 event was marked by accusations of police abuse and mismanagement. Though large segments of the disturbance were documented on video, no specific acts of violence were seen until after tear gas was launched. The City Council formed a commission to review the events. The commission declined to assess blame to the students and police by a 5-4 vote [3].
