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ELPD: MSU move-in week nothing it can't handle

Posted at 7:54 AM, Aug 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-26 07:54:35-04

15 years ago, Welcome Week at Michigan State was an epic clash between students, police, and the people who live in East Lansing.

"Bottles thrown at windows, a couple of years ago we had somebody picked up the stone from the neighbors yard and put it through somebody's back window of a car," Joel Lichty, who has lived in the same house in East Lansing for 28 years, said.

Now, the East Lansing Police say, not so much. "It's going to be a busy weekend, but it's certainly not going to be an out-of-control weekend, and nothing compared to Welcome Week 15, 20, 25 years ago," Lt. Scott Wriggelsworth said Thursday.

"They have calmed down a little bit. We haven't had a rose bush stolen in a number of years," Lichty said, as if it were the most normal thing (he suspects students who had recently moved in were looking to spruce up their yards and thought taking his plants was the easiest way).

Students are more responsible now, Fall Welcome (as Welcome Week has been renamed) is shorter, and the police have learned some tricks through the years, Wriggelsworth says. "These weekends are busy, but we see very few problems," he said. "We can anticipate that this weekend is going to go off without a hitch and we are prepared for whatever's thrown at us."

It's still one of MSU's craziest weekends, according to Sophomore and Fraternity member Eric Williams. "Come Monday or Tuesday when everyone is moved in, it will be more rampant and more fun," Williams said.

But class starts Wednesday, and that's when things calm down. And staying calm is the advice one long-time East Lansing resident gives any non-students who recently moved to town.

"We know what's happening, and we expect it, and we hope there aren't too many negative incidents," Lichty said. "But we like the students, and we like the energy that they bring to the area."

East Lansing Police say if anyone sees someone who needs help, even if they have been drinking, don't hesitate to call 911. Police say getting that person medical help is most important.