With celebrations of Veishea 2007 commencing in April, the Veishea Peer and Aide committee are looking for more than just a few good men – 300, to be exact.

The committee is now accepting applications for volunteers to become Veishea aides. The student volunteers would be responsible for participating in activities with the Veishea committee and assisting with the myriad of events during Veishea week.

“We really need aides’ help to run everything successfully,” said Emily Arentson, Peer and Aide committee co-chairwoman and senior in agricultural biochemistry.

This year, Iowa State is entering its 150th year as a college. The observation of this sesquicentennial event will kick off April 21 at Veishea, and continue until 2008.

“It’s exciting to be part of Iowa State’s 150th anniversary celebration,” Arentson said.

The 150th anniversary means this year’s Veishea will be bigger than in years past.

“It’s created a lot more need for people,” Arentson said.

Three hundred volunteers are needed to serve in at least one of three categories: general, parade and operations.

Brandon Fischer, sophomore in agricultural studies, is the operations liaison for the Peer and Aide committee.

“[Operations aides] help set up tents, stages, barricades, tables [and] chairs,” Fischer said.

He said only 30 volunteers are needed as operations aides.

Though Fischer said the job of operations aide requires some physical labor, there are opportunities that are not labor-intensive.

Parade aides are needed to coordinate the Veishea Parade, which begins the Friday of Veishea.

“They make sure people don’t mess with the floats, that they stop at certain times and assist in bringing them to the site,” Fischer said.

General aides have the greatest variety of duties, including serving free food on campus and assisting at concerts and tournaments, Arentson said.

There are no prerequisites for applying to become a Veishea aide.

“It’s a good way for freshmen and sophomores to get involved and work on leadership skills,” Arentson said.

If accepted, Veishea aides would have to attend one or two informational meetings regarding their duties.

“There’s just a couple; it’s not a big time commitment,” Arentson said about the meetings.

Applications are due at 5 p.m. Friday and can be turned in to the West Student Office Space of the Memorial Union. Applications can be found online at www.veishea.iastate.edu.