Dear Tuesday Rioters:

I just want to take the time to thank you for relieving the stress of the rest of Veishea. I mean, it’s not like I was really looking forward to working at a booth for my favorite club, Students Helping Rescue Animals, raising money for shelter animals and helping homeless dogs get adopted. It’s not like I was looking forward to supporting the Pre-Vet Club’s petting zoo. You saved me from the International Food Fair and those extra calories in the cherry pies that are apparently tradition to eat. And now I don’t have to find a time to go to GROOVE, a club my sister used to be involved in that I really enjoy. You probably saved thousands of dollars for all those students and parents who don’t have to spend money supporting clubs or charities. The parade doesn’t have to happen anymore, thank goodness. And those plans I made with my friends on Saturday? Canceled. Hooray! Worrying about how I’m going to fit all the awesome, non-violent, non-alcohol related activities into my schedule is now a thing of the past because now I don’t have the opportunity to do any of it.

And while you’re still out drinking because you don’t really care about Veishea anyway — it’s just an excuse to party — you probably won’t be worried at all about the tens of thousands of the rest of us who actually like Veishea because it’s a way to support Iowa State and all that it stands for. While you continue to get wasted and use this important tradition as an excuse to increase your stupidity in the name of “why not?,” the rest of us will be taking apart our posters, tossing out the bake sale goods we made, telling our families not to bother coming and canceling our plans, knowing that what Iowa State is most widely known for now so inaccurately describes what we really are that it’s just really sad. 

So, thanks, rioters. Nice one.