Yeah, no. Under 40 here. Well under. You have no idea what those under 30 or under 40 think.
Task Force Recommendation for VEISHEA
- Thread starter Angie
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Yeah, no. Under 40 here. Well under. You have no idea what those under 30 or under 40 think.
I emailed the task force too and asked for a read receipt. I was surprised that they actually replied and said they read it. I never made it to any of the open forums so I don't know if it ever got read aloud. Bottom line is besides the 2 VEISHEA Co Chairs which I'm sure Hill told them to keep their mouths shut, Hill assembled a committee designed to eliminate VEISHEA. This is such a shame to the university and the 95% of people who participated in VEISHEA and weren't violent. Maybe in 5 years Hill will be retired, Leath takes a new job, and we get leadership who actually understands what VEISHEA means to ISU and Ames. With a little bit of luck maybe we can hope to see VEISHEA back in 5-10 years.
This. Heck even if leath was still here and hill gone, I think VEISHEA will come back. As much as I like him, tom hill has wanted VEISHEA gone for years.
I was a part of a couple groups which worked with Hill. I really respect him too but he needs retire. I'm sure between this and him getting sued over those marijuana shirts fiasco, it might be the point where he says enough is enough. I was hearing rumors last year that he was retiring and that was before either of these happened.
That's actually how the riot began in 2004. Authorities broke up a party on Hunt and everyone flooded onto Welch. And riot cops started coming out of the fire station and then....kaboom! There is blame on both sides for 2004. Not that the cops broke up the party but the way they handled the post - party revelers.
Unfortunately, this ignorant opinion is what is leading VEISHEA to it's death. I feel sorry for those who don't see the good in VEISHEA. Drunken parties are a part of a lot of good and successful events/celebrations/festivals/fairs. It can be done successfully with VEISHEA, it's just that no one wants to try things that would actually work.
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- Mar 27, 2006
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Hardly ignorant. I've been to lots of VEISHEA celebrations and participated in lots of the events. If you think the reason that the majority of the people come to town is for the cherry pies and parade, you're deluding yourself. It is a party first and foremost. That's how it's seen. That's how it's known. Are there some attendees who don't participate in the drunken revelry? Sure. But they're the minority.
Sure a majority of the VEISHEA attendees use it as an excuse to party. Same thing happens with the State Fair, every single hometown summer festival, most of the festivals in downtown Des Moines, etc. However, you said that VEISHEA means NOTHING more then a drunken party to a vast majority of attendees. That statement is incredibly ignorant. Like those other events I listed, a majority of the people who are partying know why they are partying, and take advantage of many of the other events associated with the festival that don't include drinking.
Simply put, there are several examples in America of how events like VEISHEA are able to work with a "drunken party". For whatever reason, ISU and the City of Ames refuse to take notes from those events to make VEISHEA work. Several people wanted VEISHEA to die, and they are finally getting their wish.
- Mar 27, 2006
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Multiple things have been tried. Date moves, restructuring of events, etcetera, etcetera. Didn't work. VEISHEA's just not worth it to save at this point. 5 years from now might be a different story, but the black eye it gives to the university and the city is simply not needed right now. And what would we be saving anyway? A few cherry pies and some 4-H exhibits? Sorry, that's not enough. This is a lesson in consequences, and judging by the number of folks complaining about the Task Force's decision indicate that the consequences are having the desired effect. I'm glad that the members of the Task Force were courageous enough to say enough is enough. Perhaps, in time, if VEISHEA is brought back, those consequences will resonate, and celebrators will take a little more responsibility.
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All they have done is tried to stop college kids from drinking. Anyone who thought that was going to be successful is a moron. Why have so many other drunken festivals been successful? It's because they provide a means in a controlled environment for alcohol to be consumed. All VEISHEA has done is push drinking into an uncontrolled environment. People, especially college students, are going to drink. You have to come to terms with that. If you want to have this type of event with no drinking involved, you're going to fail. Like I said, there are thousands of examples out there where this works. Follow those leads instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.
Also, if you can't see what VEISHEA is about, and the good that it does, part the exhibits and cherry pies, then I completely understand why you couldn't care less that it's ending.
I think it's going to be harder to kill "Veishea" than some think. I quote veishea because I am talking only about the student drunk fest. With the way social media is these days (look how far it's come since 2004) I fully expect there to be some sort of "unofficial veishea". Takes one person to get something like that rolling on twitter and it's like veishea was never gone. There will still be a massive drunk fest in ames Iowa come springtime. Maybe not a whole week, but definitely a weekend.
I think another question would be is it appropriate for an institution of higher learning like Iowa State to devote so much time, money, and resources on finding a way to best control drunken mobs at a festival thats supposed to celebrate the University's achievements. In my opinion ISU should be focused on providing an education and building Iowa State's reputation/brand not controlling drunken mobs at a festival. Some here don't seem to understand, but whenever I hear VEISHEA brought up it is alway about how crazy the parties were, how out of control things got, and whether there will be a riot this year. Its incredibly sad, I participated in VEISHEA (both official and unofficial celebration) each of the past 8 years. As an udergrad I did a lot of partying for VEISHEA week but in grad school and as an alumni I went to a lot of the official events and enjoyed them quite a bit, it helped to give me a sense of pride in the university and the learning/research happening at ISU. However I don't know how you separate the bad from the good without spending a lot more time, money, and resources. Hopefully it can come back again some day.
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The major difference between VEISHEA and events like the state fair (which I'll grant you is also a big drunk fest), is that VEISHEA is a college event that takes place on a major college campus. People don't throw massive house parties for the state fair. And while there is plenty of drinking on the fairgrounds, the environment is totally different than a house party or Welch, and hardly conducive to riots.
There might be a trick or two that ISU could pick up from the fair, but the cure to this issue isn't going to be found there. It's apples and oranges.
I'll bet there's an unofficial VEISHEA next year, and maybe even the year after that. But it won't take very long for that sort of thing to die out, even with social media. There's no way any event on that scale lasts long-term; not without the sort of institutional support that VEISHEA gets from the university.
That's my point... All ISU has done to "change" VEISHEA over the years is push the drinking and partying to house parties in an uncontrolled environment. If the State Fair, for example, went dry, you would probably see more parties in homes on the east side, although probably not near as many as a college campus ( I agree, it's apples to oranges).
Find an effective way to bring the drinking back into a controlled environment for VEISHEA, and I think you solve quite a few problems.
