A large number of student organizations that applied to participate in the Veishea parade have been denied parade permits, Veishea officials said.

Jessica Carlson, Veishea co-chairwoman, said as of Monday night, 20 to 25 organizations’ requests to participate in the parade had been turned down. Reasons for the denials vary from organizations missing the entry deadline to entries not having “entertainment value.”

The purpose of the parade is for amusement, not activism, said Kelli Teno, Veishea public relations co-chairwoman.

“The parade is for entertainment value,” she said. “The [organizations] that are rejected are the ones trying to influence public opinion.”

An outlet more effective than the parade for influencing public opinion will be provided, Carlson said.

“[Organizations with a political agenda] will be put into the Veishea Village,” she said. “This is a better venue to influence public opinion. The parade is just not the place to do that.”

Teno said Veishea Village has booths set up for groups to promote their messages. The forum will be a more ideal place for organizations with political messages, she said.

“We provide a different venue for them to speak their opinions, which is more appropriate than a parade,” she said. “[The booths] influence people better … because it gives [organizations] time to speak directly to people. Parades don’t allow that, so I don’t see the point of [those organizations] being in it.” One group with a rejected float this year is Students for Life.

Daniel Rajewski, president of the group, said he received a letter stating the Veishea parade committee did not feel the parade was the best place for the organization. He said he was told over the phone by a Veishea organizer his group had too much of a political message to be included in the parade.

“Our organization has no connection to any political party,” he said. “Our policies may favor one party or another, but there is no formal connection to them.”

The group has no plans to protest the decision and will have a booth to promote its message, Rajewski said.

Josh Reicks, president of the ISU College Republicans, said he also received a rejection letter that stated his group would not provide entertainment value to the parade.

Even though his group was rejected from the parade, Reicks said he has faced little conflict in receiving space to give his organization a presence in Veishea.

“We haven’t had much of a problem this year,” he said. “We don’t ask for much, and we don’t expect much.”

In the previous years, Teno said, there have been a number of spectators who have expressed disinterest in floats expressing political views.

Another reason the criteria for parade entry is stricter than previous years is because this is an election year, she said. Political groups were denied so spectators will not think the parade is used to influence votes.

Matt Bornhorst, co-chairman of the Veishea parade committee, said more organizations are rejected after the initial application.

“Just because a float is [initially] accepted, it doesn’t mean it will be in the parade,” he said.

After the first application, a float’s sponsor must meet other deadlines set by Veishea, such as for paying entry fees and filling out forms. Bornhorst said in the past, there have been many organizations that have fallen out during this screening process.

Ramsey Tesdell, member of the steering committee for Time for Peace, said his group was rejected because the proper forms needed to apply came a few days too late. He said he was disappointed because the parade is a good way to get the organization’s message out.

“We are a campus-based community organization, so we want to reach out to the community,” he said. “Veishea is a good way to reach out to students, alumni and the Ames community.”

If an organization still feels its float should be admitted into the parade, the organization is allowed to discuss the committee’s decision with Bornhorst and Veishea parade co-chairwoman Abilyn Boruff. They will discuss the decision with representatives of the organization and offer alternatives the organization may pursue.

Reicks said he already discussed the decision with Bornhorst but didn’t feel they could agree on an adequate compromise. Reicks talked with Vernon Wall, faculty adviser for Veishea, and set up a time to meet with the Veishea committee and plead his case. He said he will meet with the Veishea committee at 9 p.m. Tuesday night in the Oak Room of the Memorial Union.

Reicks said he is unsure what criteria were used to reject the ISU College Republicans’ float and hopes to understand the situation better after meeting with the committee.

“We go into any situation thinking the best of people, so we don’t think they would reject only certain groups,” he said. “We hope it is just a misunderstanding.”

— Jason Noble contributed to this article.