President Leath approves extension for Veishea Task Force

Will Fowler

Editor’s note: The original version of this story reported that the Veishea Task Force’s recommendation was submitted to President Leath on June 30. Leath actually approved a deadline extension for the task force on June 30 and the error has been corrected in the article.

The task force deliberating Veishea’s fate in the light of this year’s riot has received a deadline extension from President Steven Leath. The final meeting of the task force on June 26 went into closed session after the first 20 minutes of the meeting were public.

The recommendation’s original deadline was June 30 but after the group’s last meeting, Tom Hill, senior vice president for student affairs, requested more time to edit and finalize the report.

The final recommendation will now be due July 11. The task force’s recommendation will not be available until Leath makes a decision.

The 2004 Veishea Task Force, also formed as a result of riots, had six months to deliberate. The 2014 task force was given two months.

“I think that two months was enough time, and in speaking with students I got the perspective that two months was almost too much time,” said Hillary Kletscher, Government of the Student Body president and member of the task force. “The student body was asking, ‘When is the recommendation going to be done?’”

Kletscher said Leath’s decision was “up in the air,” but the task force had a well-crafted recommendation.

Hill could not be reached for comment at this time.