As the 80th year of Veishea approaches, members of the ISU community, old and new, are anticipating the annual student-run celebration.

“I’m really looking forward to experiencing my first Veishea,” said President Gregory Geoffroy. “I already have my tickets to Stars Over Veishea and I’m looking forward to speaking. I have a lot of time reserved to participate, and I’m anticipating a great success.”

Charles Frederikson, ISU alumnus, attended his first Veishea in the spring of 1950.

He has fond memories of all the aspects of Veishea and all the memories he’s made.

“When I was a student, Veishea had quite an impact,” Frederikson said. “With so many of the students from small towns, all the big events were really exciting and new for us.”

Stars Over Veishea, a tradition that began in 1923, was one of Frederikson’s favorite events. The musical performance was originally set outside under the stars, which led to the name.

“I remember they had the Stars Over Veishea show at the Clyde Williams field,” Frederikson said. “It was a very popular event that people really looked forward to.”

In 1958, Stars Over Veishea was moved inside to the Armory and in 1970 it moved to Stephens Auditorium, where it is still performed today.

During the 1950s, students did not have classes on Fridays of Veishea weekend.

“Fridays were high school days and all the Iowa State students were excused from class,” he said. “There were all kinds of open houses that we all looked forward to.”

Holding open houses is a tradition that began during the first Veishea celebration in 1922 with 33 groups participating.

Frederikson remembers preparing open houses and the anticipation while waiting for judges.

“It was a very busy but [a] fun and full day,” he said.

This year is a very special Veishea for Frederikson because Hawthorn Court is being renamed in his honor.

“This will by far be the most significant Veishea for me,” he said. “I have friends and family coming from all over to celebrate this great event, and my experiences this year, I’m sure, won’t be topped.”

James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering, was a student from 1956-1960 and was involved during each of his four years as a student.

“Veishea was always a lot of fun and kept students really engaged in the activities,” he said. “I always looked forward to getting involved and participating.”

Getting involved in the fun isn’t the only reason Veishea holds important memories for Melsa.

“Veishea will always be very special to me because it’s how I met my wife,” he said.

During his senior year, Melsa was a business manager for Veishea Central Committee. He worked hard with the Veishea Central secretary. But there was another connection.

“We always had a lot of fun working together, and then we realized there were some sparks there,” he said. “We started dating and we’ve been married for 42 years now.”

Ted Tedesco, mayor of Ames, remembers good times from the spring celebration as well, such as building parade floats.

“I still like the parade,” he said. “I guess I’m a kid at heart.”

Veishea didn’t always come together so easily though.

Neil Harl, professor of agricultural economics, came to Iowa State 50 years ago and was involved with Veishea floats.

Harl was a faculty adviser for Veishea in 1969, during the rising tide of protest.

“There was a great deal of race tension, environmental issues and, of course, Vietnam for the students to riot over,” Harl said.

“We were told as advisers that the greatest challenge we would face would be the protests.” he said.

In 1970, an event changed the scene of Veishea for the entire week and nearly caused administrators to cancel the event – the protests of the Vietnam War at Kent State when the National Guard fired on a crowd of students. Four students were left dead, one was paralyzed and eight others were wounded.

“Our campus was greatly affected,” Harl said. “There were around 5,000 students protesting on campus and the week had just started. There were also a lot of threats that if the Color Guard used weapons in the parade that students would show up with weapons of their own.”

The committee knew they needed to come up with a new plan and created a four-part proposal. The first part of the plan was to change the selected speaker for the week to a student discussion.

“This part of the plan was very successful,” Harl said. “It helped students realize that the university would let them speak what was on their mind.”

The second aspect of the plan was to have an open microphone on Central Campus. This let students know that their voices could be heard.

“I remember walking on Central Campus around 2:30 a.m. There were hundreds and hundreds of students venting their thoughts,” Harl said.

The third change the committee made was to ban weapons in the parade. After all the threats from students they thought any sort of weapon in the parade would be too risky.

“We got a lot of flack for this part of the plan,” Harl said. “People felt we went too far, but we knew it was the only way to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”

The fourth and final part of the plan was to organize a March of Concern at the end of the Veishea parade. Harl said the committee estimated 50 students would participate in the march. But nearly 5,000 students marched.

He said the Veishea week ended up being a very successful event, and it left students feeling more pride in their university because they were allowed to speak their minds and feelings.

“All of the happenings that year were clearly the high point of my years of Veishea and I’ll never forget it,” Harl said. “I was very impressed by the student’s leadership and how respectful they were. They proved all they needed was a chance to speak.”

After the 1997 murder of Harold “Uri” Sellers during Veishea weekend, the administration took action to curb the potential danger of riots and binge drinking. This sobering reality resulted in a Veishea pledge to eliminate drinking on campus during the weekend.

“There were earlier riots and physical damage caused to the campus and then after the stabbing, the university decided there needed to be a change,” Melsa said. “The stabbing was believed to be caused due to excess drinking, it was something that needed to be solved.”

Melsa said one of the main problems the university felt it needed to face after the stabbing was the bad publicity for the students of Iowa State.

“That unfortunate event made Iowa State students look bad, and the reality was that most of the problems that were occurring were high school students coming to the celebration,” he said.

“One of the main focuses of Veishea had always been bringing in high school students to showcase the campus and the university realized that the event needed to be focusing more on the Iowa State students because it is their university and they are mature enough to handle the events,” Melsa said.

In order to change the focus of the event and make the week safer for the students, the administration felt it was necessary for the celebration to be dry.

“I don’t think students were necessarily happy about it, but I think they were mature enough to understand why it had to be done,” he said. “It kept the celebration going and has made the week a little safer for everyone.”

Veishea has changed in its 80 years on campus, but the celebration still brings Cyclones together.

“Veishea has always been a great event and I think a lot of its success is due to the fact that it’s a student-run organization,” Frederikson said. “It’s a great tradition because once you experience it, it’s just what you do every year.”