Afternoon turned to evening, and evening turned to night. East Lansing and Michigan State police were on the scene, periodically hauling away people committing indecent exposure and becoming violent. EMTs were on hand, treating people who needed medical attention. (Sounds like fun, Cedar Fest, doesn't it?) Full cans and bottles of beer were being thrown up in the air, sometimes landing on the streets and sometimes on people. Police used the tactic of trying to target trouble spots in the crowd, launching harmless flash bombs to scare people away and arresting only a few people who were causing trouble. Late into the night, it became apparent that the crowd was becoming a mob. That mob began hurling bricks as well as full bottles and cans. East Lansing police ordered the crowd to disperse through a loudspeaker and then gave several warnings, telling partiers that they had the authority to use chemical agents if they disobeyed the dispersal order. This move only produced cheers of "Tear gas! Tear gas!" Then they tried to fire a shot across the bow, using more flash bombs and fireworks. City of Lansing police were brought in to seal off Grand River Avenue, and the order was given. I have no particular loyalty to Michigan State as an institution, but it must have been inspiring to hear students chanting, "Go Green! Go White!" to the beat of launched tear gas canisters. Revelers poured out of the various exits from a Cedar Village now obscured through a toxic haze.
This time around, I was able to see much of what was going on. You see, as an on-duty mentor in Snyder-Phillips Hall, literally just across the street from Cedar Village, I and four other mentors, as well as other staff members from the hall and from around campus, had the task of securing the building and helping anyone who needed medical attention.
The events, and various students' responses to them, tell an interesting story about the attitude of my generation toward politics, morality, and life in general. That is a story I intend to tell, in the next few posts, from various perspectives.
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