Crushing dissent Draconian anti-rioting law targets students It has been more than a year since the riots at Michigan State University, but the state government has not finished overreacting. The new statute, recently signed into law, provides for an additional penalty for those convicted of involvement with rioting, unlawful assembly or civil disorder on or near a public college campus. Beyond current measures, offenders will be banned from entering any public community college, college or university campus for up to two years. Rioting is clearly unacceptable.
Public safety demands some maintenance of order.
But this is a non-issue since rioting is already illegal. The authorities have proven themselves all too willing to enforce current laws and have in fact been somewhat overzealous in doing so. What PA 51 does do is make the punishment unequal to the crime. If a lawbreaker has already been sanctioned by fines or incarceration, there is no good advanced by depriving them of an education as well. There is another deplorable aspect to this bill in its malevolent attitude towards students.