As visions of Veishea dance in all Cyclones’ heads and as we observe the after-last-call antics of bar hopping-students throughout the week, lots of students conflicted about engaging in underage drinking, or otherwise irresponsible behavior, may feel a choice looming ahead. 

The unofficial Veishea seems to sometimes be at odds with the more official Veishea that seeks to commemorate collegiate traditions from decades past.

Although many students may hear of ISU history and lore on their campus visits, at orientation, at Destination Iowa State and from the lovely, glossy prospectuses the university sends out to recruit high school students, that knowledge probably does not bear heavily on many students’ minds. Students don’t have much time to sit on Central Campus and contemplate the history of Iowa State.

Enter Veishea.

As most of you probably know, “Veishea” is actually an acronym that originally identified all the colleges at Iowa State: Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Industrial Science, Home Economics and Agriculture.

Students have a choice this week between learning about the institution at which they will spend four or more years of their lives as impressionable young adults or indulging in toxic excess that damages their ability to do well in that same institution. Rarely does the university devote an entire week to commemorating the things that make it special. There is very little unique about helping perpetuate stereotypes about college kids shotgunning a few beers before their twenty-first birthday and receiving the golden ticket of a police citation as a certificate of achievement.

A genuine achievement this week would be learning the nature of Iowa State first-hand, rather than being told its history through self-promoting pamphlets that reduce complicated thoughts to truisms and buzzwords.

Students who know that history — who have discovered it for themselves — will be able to ascertain the real value of their degrees and will be in a position to provide meaningful feedback to the university regarding the fulfillment of its role.

Iowa State is a land-grant college, which stems from the Morrill Act of 1862. That act of Congress is available online, and is only a few pages long. The speeches that Justin Morrill made in the House of Representatives defending his bill are available online through the library, and are also enlightening. Additionally, inquiring minds can find other speeches on education he made throughout his more than 30 years in Congress.

Contrasting the inaugural addresses of Iowa State’s first president, Adonijah Welch, with its most recent president, Steven Leath, is not difficult either, as the former is available online through the library’s website and the latter is available on the university’s website dedicated to presidential installations.

The premise of higher education today is that colleges are delivering a service in exchange for tuition. Without an understanding of the kind of service that tuition is supposed to be buying, students cannot be good consumers. Veishea is as good a time as any.