If you thought the dates of Veishea 2009 were set in stone, think again.

Instead of running during the scheduled week of March 30 through April 5, Veishea 2009 will now take place April 13 through April 19.

After battling unwelcoming weather during Veishea 2008, individuals from the Veishea advisory council, ISU administration and current Veishea executive board all agreed a change in dates was necessary.

2008 Veishea general co-chairpersons Kyle Peterson, junior in marketing, and Megan Todd, senior in marketing, said “constant feedback” from students, faculty members and alumni was taken into consideration during the decision-making process.

Todd said there is hope for a positive reaction from students about the dates, after weather played an integral role in deterring attendance for outdoor activities during Veishea 2008.

“I think they’ll be excited about the change,” Todd said about the anticipated reaction from the ISU student population. “Obviously the weather, you can’t predict, you never know . I think they’re going to be happy that it’s moved up two weeks into the calendar schedule.”

Besides the possibility for a more cooperative outdoor climate, Todd said the decision to reschedule Veishea 2009 will allow additional time for planning on the part of Veishea and other student organizations.

Before making the schedule change, Tom Hill, vice president for student affairs, consulted with members of the Jewish community about the observance of Passover. After learning that the first two days of Passover, which are considered the most important in the Jewish faith, did not conflict with the revised dates of Veishea, Hill said the rescheduling then focused on other events such as Easter, spring break, dead week, Greek Week and the 100th anniversary of the Drake Relays.

Hill said there were “roughly four or five” facets that went into the decision to move the dates of Veishea. He said items of concern were weather, planning and avoiding conflict with three separate items – religious observances, the Drake Relays and academic events such as dead and finals week.

Aside from conflicting schedules, Hill said rescheduling Veishea in 2009 will hopefully be an important step in improving the Veishea experience for ISU students.

“To give [students] the best opportunity to have a good celebration, I think, is very, very important.” Hill said. “The earlier it is, the chances are not as good to have good weather.”

While postponing the celebration for two weeks increases the likelihood for warmer temperatures, regardless of the change, Peterson said, there’s always potential for less-than-perfect weather in Iowa.

“I’ve talked to people who have said they’ve had snow in May,” Peterson said. “I hope we don’t get snow in May.”

During this year’s version of the ISU tradition, indoor attendance numbers were higher than usual because of the weather, Todd said.

“This is a student celebration. We want students to participate,” she said. “We obviously saw lower numbers at some of our outdoor events. I don’t blame them; it was freezing cold Friday and Saturday night.”

Todd said Veishea was lucky in 2006 and 2007 to have such nice weather, but the recent weather changes have brought the issue of contingency plans to the forefront. During Veishea’s “wrap-up meeting” Wednesday, individuals in attendance discussed potential contingency plans in response to inclement weather.

Peterson said a number of outdoor events this year could be moved indoors, but that may not be possible for large-scale events.

“You can’t really have a contingency plan for an event that is supposed to accommodate thousands of people,” he said.