A commission of Michigan State University students is considering a resolution asking the City of East Lansing to approve a prosecution moratorium for stolen street signs.
Street sign thefts tend to happen at busy times like football Saturdays in East Lansing, usually in low-traffic areas. Those signs are often trashed when students move away for the summer.
Shaurya Pandya chairs the city's University Student Commission. He says a moratorium from prosecution might get some of those signs returned.
“The city often does not have the funds to replace them all the time,” Pandya said. “Nor do they always have the inclination to replace them all the time.”
If approved, the moratorium would run for the last two weeks of the spring semester.
“The city has not really found a reason to prosecute people for taking signs, but they do have a reason to want those signs back. And so, we could say, ‘hey, you can actually do this,” Pandya added.
The University Student Commission is expected to approve the resolution at its meeting on Feb. 14 and then present it to the city council.