On Oct. 22, 1997, then-ISU President Martin Jischke announced Veishea 1998 would be dry. Now, I have noticed everyone attending Iowa State is a student, many of whom enjoy partaking in alcoholic beverages. These students decided they had to have alcohol to have fun, and since then have decided that dry Veishea hasn’t been the cool thing to do.

On that same October day as Jischke’s announcement, tables were set up at the Memorial Union and the Hub and students could go to a table and sign a pledge to indicate they were in support of an alcohol-free Veishea. After signing the pledge, they were even given buttons that said “I took the Veishea Pledge — Keepin’ it Safe and Alcohol Free” that they could pin on their No Fear T-shirts.

Veishea became dry in an attempt to save it.

The 1997 Veishea riots weren’t an excuse for ISU administrators to act as fun-haters, making all Veisheas thereafter dry. The 1997 riots were preceded by the 1985, 1988, 1992 and 1994 Veishea riots.

1997 was the most tragic, however, when Harold “Uri” Sellers was found stabbed to death on the lawn of the Adelante fraternity.

What had started as a spring celebration long ago became a type of three-day Mardi Gras where many students and visitors alike felt they had a right to act however they pleased. They felt their rights to party superseded the rights of students and Ames residents alike to feel safe in their community.

I didn’t know any of these things when I came to Iowa State.

“Boo, Veishea sucks,” I was told as a freshman. “Now that it’s dry, everyone goes to Iowa City since you can’t party here.”

Yet, walking down Welch Avenue the week Veishea was being set up my freshman year, it looked like it would be fun. Who needs to party when meat on a stick, cotton candy and funnel cakes are readily available? Apparently lots of people, who still leave town the second class ends Friday.

After almost four years at Iowa State, I still haven’t stuck around Veishea weekend. It wasn’t because I went to Iowa City to party, something just came up every year that required me to leave town, many times before I even knew that it would be Veishea weekend.

But this year I’m going. I’ll walk around Veishea feeling safe, not having to worry my car will be smashed, furniture will be set on fire, or I will find someone murdered.

I hear there’s even a parade.

Leah McBride is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Knoxville. She is the news editor of the Iowa State Daily.