MICHIGAN STATE STUDENTS PROTEST LIQUOR BAN

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A student protest against a ban on alcohol at a
favored Michigan State University tailgate party site turned into a
confrontation with police in riot gear, and several people were treated for
tear gas-related injuries.

Coincidentally, a national study released hours after the early Saturday
demonstration reported that the school leads the nation's universities in
alcohol-related arrests.

The demonstrators' behavior reinforced the university's decision last month
to stop the drinking at Munn Field, a campus spot where fans hold parties
before and after Spartan football games, said Michigan State spokesman
Terry Denbow. City Manager Ted Staton said they have been working closely
with the university on drinking problems. "This will only serve to
highlight the importance of that work," he said.

The protest began when students gathered at Munn Field, tearing through a
fence surrounding the field before heading to the campus home of Michigan
State President M. Peter McPherson. They left after finding out he wasn't
home. A crowd estimated at 3,000 people then moved into downtown East
Lansing chanting obscenities at police.

Just after midnight, protesters lit a fire in one of downtown's busiest
intersections. Police said they waited about an hour before they fired tear
gas into the crowd so firefighters could put out the fire. Another bonfire
was set later near the edge of campus, and police fired tear gas again to
clear a path for firefighters.

Police Chief Lawton Connelly said some protesters threw bottles and rocks
at police. Nine people were arrested and five or six had to be treated for
minor injuries. The disturbance came as many of Michigan State's more than
41,000 students prepared to leave town after finishing finals week.

On Saturday, the Chronicle of Higher Education released a survey saying
Michigan State led the nation in arrests for campus alcohol violations in
1996. The school had 574 arrests, followed by the University of California
at Berkeley with 523, the survey said. They were followed by the University
of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of Minnesota and Purdue University
in West Lafayette, Ind.

All except the University of Minnesota have fewer students than Michigan
State. The campus in Minneapolis has 51,400 students. In September, a
post-football party near the school that turned into a disturbance in which
two police cars were damaged and four people were arrested. Since then,
"there's been a whole lot of alcohol education activity" on campus, much of
it led by students, Denbow said.