As result of tailgating’s move across the street, students and others are now on the figurative back doorstep of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Some make their tailgating home in our parking lot. Others stumble up the hill between the Veterinary Medical Research Institute (VMRI) and the college.

It probably does not sound too bad unless you are a student at the college who arrived for Monday morning classes after the Iowa-Iowa State game only to see trash covering the parking lot. It was not just an isolated beer bottle or two — this was as if a party had exploded in our parking lot. It was a total lack of respect for the students who are being educated here and the university.

There is another problem here. Due to DPS’ lack of additional personnel, students of the college are paid to safeguard the teaching hospital before and during football games. Clients and their animals (companion animals, equine or livestock) need to be able to have clear access to the teaching hospital for either routine or emergency visits, uninhibited by the overflow of tailgaters.

I understand no one expected the parking lot used for tailgating last year would not be available this year. The responsible parties are the athletic department and the university administration as a whole.

To the people in those groups, please consider the ramifications of your actions on the College of Veterinary Medicine, its faculty, students and clients. For that matter, consider the image that visitors have when visiting the college the Monday after a football game. Iowa State’s campus is known nationwide for being an aesthetically pleasing place to educate oneself; it is not known as a refuse container for pizza boxes and beer bottles.

If the athletic department and the university will not take responsibility for their actions, then it falls next to those who choose to tailgate at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Be respectful — this includes cleaning up after yourself, using the bathrooms provided to you outside and not interfering with the normal activities of the college, including the teaching hospital.

The university and the athletic department did not consider the students, neither those who tailgate nor those who would be secondarily affected. In the end, the issue revolves around simple respect by students for others and consideration for all students by the university.

Andrea Warner

Junior

Veterinary Medicine