I must say that I have some serious concerns over how Minneapolis police handled the events preceding this weekendâÄôs riot. Though I found some videos of the police response to be particularly objectionable, my discontent does not rest with the response, but rather with the lack of prevention. Clearly no or little effort was made to proactively patrol the Dinkytown area. This starts with the lack of a party patrol as well as the advertisement of that fact. Though I question The Minnesota Daily in making the front page proclamation of the lack of a party patrol, I place greater blame on the Minneapolis police. Perhaps this weekend would have been a perfect time to employ what is known as the âÄúbroken windowsâÄù model of policing. The theory behind this strategy holds that small livability crimes often lead to a sense of permissiveness with regards to crime and thus lead to greater crime. Effectively enforcing open container laws and other such livability crimes in an area in which large amounts of partying was expected may have helped to show those in the area that the police were actively enforcing laws and would hopefully have decreased the chance of such a riot occurring. This would have taken a handful of additional officers. Whatever the method, it is important in situations such as this to proactively work to prevent a problem rather than simply react when one arises. I do recognize that police work is a field which is inherently unpredictable and that a police force cannot truly plan for every possible problem. However, on the occasion of Spring Jam, it would have seemed prudent to recognize the potential for problems arising from widespread partying. I also recognize that police work is one in which situations which go poorly often serve as learning tools for the future. I hope that the leadership of the 2nd precinct as well as that of the MPD as a whole takes this opportunity to learn what could have been done better so that this situation does not occur in the future. I (and I would hope we, as well) will judge you not the on the events that took place this weekend, but on how the MPD takes these events and attempts to learn from them as well as apply the lessons learned in the future. Zach Philbrick University student I was really angry when I read about the rioting last Saturday in Dinkytown. There is no excuse for what the University of Minnesota students did to other University students, area residents and Minneapolis taxpayers. Damaging cars, setting fires, tearing down posted signs and endangering peopleâÄôs lives ought to be rewarded with expulsion from the University as well as a new criminal record. I applaud the police response and wholeheartedly support the fullest prosecution of those involved. Those caught tipping over or jumping on top of cars should pay for the damages they incurred after they get out of jail. Irresponsible drinking and riotous behavior by these few adolescent and juvenile individuals who masquerade as adults affects us all. LetâÄôs kick them out of the University family and never let them back in. Thom Hull University student The incredibly violent, disproportionate police response to Dinkytown parties during the weekend confirms that the police riots at last yearâÄôs Republican National Convention were not an isolated incident. Rather, police are using the new weapons they were given for the RNC to subject our friends to indiscriminate terror on a regular basis, and we must force them to stop. As people in Dinkytown witnessed Saturday night, police brutality will sooner or later affect everyone âÄî dissidents, people of color and even privileged college students. But we donâÄôt have to put up with it. For those who didnâÄôt stand up for the survivors of RNC police violence, the message from the state seemingly couldnâÄôt be clearer: Stand together, or youâÄôll get shot, gassed and arrested alone. The RNC 8 are prime examples of people who actively resist state repression as part of a close-knit community and, in fact, will be speaking on campus this week. Readers can come to their timely event on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the third floor of Coffman Union to learn about how to defend the RNC arrestees and, by extension, anyone who finds themselves thinking a world without police might be possible. Brian Hokanson University student