When the warm weather arrives in spring, I reflect back on my brief time as an older student at Iowa State in ’03 and ’04. I enjoyed the gifted professors, energetic students and beautiful campus, but it is hard to avoid thoughts about the heartbreak of the 2004 Veishea riot too. Of course, the riot was bad enough — pitting mostly students against the police — but there was also the global coverage on CNN — an embarrassment for the university and the state.

Prior to the riot, there was a complete ban on alcohol in the dorms in response to previous riots. As parties were pushed off campus, there were many alcohol-related ordinances enacted by the city to keep bad behavior in check. In addition, there were stepped-up police patrols, including a party response team, and increased tension between permanent residents and students.

The resulting isolation of students — and the way parties were driven underground — was described by one particularly involved university professor as ghettoization, and a prominent Des Moines attorney called students the legal equivalent of gypsies.

In the aftermath of the riot, students older than 21 were allowed to drink in the dorms, late-night activities were added to Veishea, a riot task force report was issued and even more laws were passed. In other words, not much has changed, so the risk for another riot is still high.

The ideas I have suggested in the years since the riot would go significantly further toward addressing problems that still persist. The first is to create a service delivery program where a senior police officer or sergeant is charged with improving the quality of life of students living in the university-impacted area. The second is to create a small, part-time, neighborhood court in Campustown to deal with lesser infractions such as littering, disorderly conduct and alcohol possession. The third is to revamp the student government so it has greater responsibility for the student body. The fourth is to restructure the way students are managed in the dorms. The fifth is to create a student-to-student volunteer counseling service.

It is not enough for the university to raise millions of dollars to fund research and educate students academically and then sanction those who will not comply. For the United States to excel as a democracy, we must involve our most recently emancipated citizens in productive and meaningful ways so they will become engaged citizens. What better place than Iowa State and Ames to develop a healthier form of government for our future leaders.