It’s not a question of fault — or at least we don’t think it is. President Geoffroy announced Tuesday that the 82-year tradition of Veishea celebrations will come to a temporary halt in 2005, with the possibility of return in 2006. This decision came after massive media coverage of a riot that occurred on Welch Avenue on Saturday night and Sunday morning of Veishea weekend after a large party was broken up by the police.

Geoffroy also announced the creation of two Veishea task forces to assess the underlying cause of this year’s disturbance and develop recommendations for improving Ames/ISU relations.

This means more than canceling events on Welch Avenue. This means canceling Stars Over Veishea, Veishea Village, a family-friendly parade, an international food fair, golf outings, bike races, mechanical bulls and inflatable games.

Though many students have complained Veishea is a little too focused on families and alumni, the truth is that Iowa State attracts untold number of visitors during the celebration who tote their toddlers and dollars with them. These people were hardly at fault for the riot — and we sincerely doubt the Veishea co-chairpersons, who devoted a year of their lives to this event, planned on downed lamp posts and flaming waste bins.

President Geoffroy didn’t address blame in his public statement. But he did imply this year’s Veishea was a failure, referring to the six consecutive years prior to 2004 as “very successful and positive celebrations.”

Maybe he should have done more than pay lip service to the “especially important learning experience for our students,” that Veishea provides, which can enhance their “leadership, communication and teamwork skills.”

That might have meant evaluating exactly how much the ISU community will lose by closing down Veishea entirely. Yes, something needed to be done. Iowa State had to take a hard line in response to an image-shattering violent weekend, one that made national news and could put a damper on recruitment. But nothing happened on campus — so why cancel those events?

Let events like Taste of Veishea, Battle of the Bands and any unstructured off-campus events take a year off. Give all students accused of violence and property damage fair trials in the university judiciary system, expelling them if the case calls for it. A group of student leaders met with Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill and Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco earlier this week, and they argued for Veishea’s continuance, even in a “diluted form.” We couldn’t agree more.

Use the task forces to evaluate the effectiveness of those events, along with the lingering problem of Ames/ISU relations. But we fail to see how cancelling the one event that brings ISU alumni and student organizations together will help anyone.