Veishea wants your opinion.

It is still more than six months away, but the members of the 2009 Veishea Committee want to hear what you want for entertainment now.

“Tell us how we can make it better, not just what is wrong with the event,” said Hallie Satre, 2009 Veishea entertainment co-chair and junior in earth science.

The 2009 Veishea committee already has heard from a few students but members say they want more input.

The committees have been formed, and the early stages of planning will soon be under way.

The 2009 Veishea executive board is composed of 14 committees, which cover entertainment, business, catering and security, among others. Mark Pierce, junior in agricultural business, and Elyse Harper, senior in psychology, are the general co-chairpersons.

“We will have to make sure we all work together on this,” Satre said. “[Entertainment] is the more visible, but there are 13 others besides us. We have to work together to make the event possible.”

SUB: A chance to be heard

“Everyone has different ideas. The suggestions go for speakers, music, performers, sword swallowers — we want to see them,” said Kyle Wiebers, 2009 Veishea entertainment co-chairman and sophomore in pre-business.

Organizers realize, however, that no matter who is scheduled to perform at Iowa State for Veishea, there will always be some people unhappy with the pick. It’s a reality the Veishea committee has to deal with.

“The problem with the music is that within the student population, some will always hate that band,” Harper said.

The committee is all ears about when it comes to what students want — they just ask that you do it politely. The entertainment committee has set up an e-mail account — [email protected] — for students to make suggestions.

“Tell us what you want nicely. Don’t be disrespectful,” Wiebers said. “If you want to help us, please do, but if you are rude, you will be dismissed or your e-mail will be disregarded.”

The committee is also holding a few focus groups to give students the opportunity to voice — in person — what they want to see from Veishea this year. The first begins at 9 p.m. Monday in room 3512 of the Memorial Union. A second begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union. The committee plans to hold two focus groups every month.

“The focus groups are to help us gather information about students’ feelings on entertainment,” Wiebers said. “We want ideas for acts, and more than just music acts. Veishea is not just concerts, and that’s something we really want to emphasize this year.”

SUB: Resources are limited

Although the final budget for Veishea won’t be known for a few weeks, the committee knows it only has a limited amount of money, and the window to get big musical acts for the event is very small.

“When you run a large venue, you confront the agent and say ‘we have these three weeks available for you,’” Harper said. “We have two different days, which makes it hard to find people in the [Midwest] at that time.”

The limited amount of money also often prohibits booking a popular band.

“Say we wanted Dave Matthews to come to ISU; that may very well take the entire Veishea budget,” Wiebers said.

Pierce said students must understand the committee’s limitations. Other than paying for the entertainers, Veishea must often pay for hotel, food, transportation and props as well.

The committee also said that it is not solely catering to the student body. It must also keep in mind other groups that have a stake in the celebration.

“We are not just marketing to students here,” Satre said. “We have to keep in mind the alumni, administration and our sponsors. But we plan to be open, as much as possible.”

The committee members said there have been problems in the past that stemmed from miscommunication between the committee and the student body. They aim to improve communication to make sure the event runs smoothly and is enjoyable for everyone.

“It takes just one incident to stop the event,” Pierce said.

SUB: Don’t expect Central Campus

Last year’s Live@Veishea concert took place on the marching band field much to the dismay of some in the student body, who said they preferred a Central Campus venue.

But don’t expect it back at the old location this year.

“It’s just not feasible to have on Central Campus. It’s not economical,” Harper said. “Security is very expensive for Central Campus because it is in the open.”

Wiebers said security for the concert on Central Campus costs so much that it would make it unlikely to have funds left over for any notable artists to perform for Live@Veishea.

“We do not have the right funding resources for security and to have a big name come to campus, so our best option is to find another place,” Wiebers said.

Instead, the committee has been in talks to move the concert to another venue on campus.

Currently, the possibilities include Lot 63, near Maple-Willow-Larch, the commuter lots and Lot 50, near Forker Building, which is where the Freeman Spring Concert is held.

Wiebers said with a concert off Central Campus, other events could move, too.

Taste of Veishea will likely move — or at least some of it — to be closer to other entertainment venues.

“There will be discussion with the catering committee to make sure the vendors are where they are needed,” Harper said, adding Veishea should not be restricted to one part of campus.

Other events may move locations to accommodate a growing popularity.

VEISHEA Says I’m Funny, Battle of the Bands and Cyclone Idol, as well as their preliminaries, could move to other locations, such as Central Campus or the Durham Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Harper said there is a chance of seeing more acts at Stephens Auditorium, too.

“We will consider what we want and use input from the students,” she said. “Feel free to talk to us about it.”