ISU President Gregory Geoffroy formally announced Tuesday that no Veishea celebration will take place next year.

The decision to suspend the event until 2006 at the earliest came after what Geoffroy described as extensive conferences with city officials, student leaders and school administrators.

“While I and many others would like to see Veishea continue in some form, we must look objectively at the risks associated with Veishea, especially with the disturbances like the one that occurred this year,” Geoffroy said at a press conference in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. “In addition, during the next academic year our student leaders will work with university officials and city leaders of Ames to sponsor activities designed to enhance a sense of community between the city and the student body of the university.”

Geoffroy said he would make his decision about whether Veishea will continue in coming years after a task force has investigated the issue. The Veishea Task Force will be selected by Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco, Government of Student Body President Sophia Magill and Geoffroy.

A separate task force will examine the relationships among students, Iowa State, the city and its residents.

Geoffroy’s announcement was followed by positive reactions from those present at the press conference. Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill, who has met in the past 10 days with groups of student leaders, applauded the president’s decision, saying the next year will allow investigators to better answer some of the many questions posed by the April 18 riot in Campustown at the tail end of Veishea 2004.

“I think there needed to be a cooling-off period, an opportunity for us to step back, analyze what’s going on,” Hill said.

The student group, composed of GSB, greek and Veishea officials, asked Hill yesterday to communicate to Geoffroy its desire to go ahead with a somewhat diminished form of the festival for next year. Although Geoffroy’s decision to suspend next year’s Veishea went against the group’s advice, Hill said the message had been heard.

“Their opinions were very, very influential in [Geoffroy’s] decision,” Hill said. “For example, with the history of Veishea, you have riots in ’88, ’92, ’94, ’97 and now 2004, with a death in there, too. The thing you would think is, it’s over. Their influence was essential in getting him to make the decision that he has made. The decision has not been to kill Veishea. The decision has been made to look at it and see what we can do to preserve it for the future.”

Slightly less approving of Geoffroy’s choice was Kyle Chesnut, co-chairman of the 2005 Veishea committee. With the event suspended, Chesnut and co-chairwoman Ashley Glade find themselves without a Veishea to plan for.

“Well, obviously we’re very disappointed,” Chesnut said. “We would have liked to have planned another Veishea for next year, but we do agree with the president’s decision. We understand why he made the decision he did. And I know both of us are personally very excited about the opportunity to plan the new, improved Veishea and the changes that are going to be made to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

Magill also supported the president’s decision, saying the path before the task force would likely be an arduous but rewarding one.

“It’s definitely a tough road ahead, but I think it’s going to really give us time to assess things and take people’s concerns about the disturbances and the way Veishea really works with everyone so that we can make this, in the future, exist.”

Geoffroy finished his official statement with a hopeful message about the festival’s future.

“I believe we will be successful in developing a plan that not only preserves Veishea, but strengthens it for future generations,” he said. “I have great faith and confidence in the students of Iowa State to address these issues positively and to take control of Veishea and bring it back to the great celebration it is intended to be.”