With rumors flying and tensions high, members of the ISU black community said they will be on guard this weekend.

More than 60 people met Monday in Carver Hall to discuss a recent incident involving a black Ames High School student and a white Ballard High School student April 6. Rumors of retaliation from Ballard students during Veishea weekend followed the dispute on Welch Avenue.

The meeting was held to put all rumors to rest, said moderator Thomas Hill, vice president for Student Affairs.

“I think we all have the same interest in mind – to get to the bottom of this and get it behind us,” he said.

The incident this month was the culmination of a series of phone calls and threats since January between the two high school students over a white woman both were interested in, said Sgt. Mike Johns of the Ames Police Department.

As no one was willing to talk about the incident that night, he said they have not been able to find anyone at fault for a crime.

“You have to understand we have no victim, no one has come forward to make a complaint,” Johns said. “We don’t have an official crime recorded from either [the Department of Public Safety] or the Ames Police Department.”

Pete Englin, interim dean of students, said the rumors of retaliation or ISU students being involved with the incident have only been communicated second-hand.

“There has been an unconfirmed report that someone said they would be `getting a rope and lynching someone like what happened in Texas,'” he said.

Andy Kothenbeutel, Government of the Student Body Towers senator, said people had migrated up the street towards Towers to watch the fight, which could be why some believe ISU students were involved.

“We have a large reason to believe that no Towers residents were involved,” he said. “No [residence advisers] had heard of this incident.”

Members of the audience proposed opening the Black Cultural Center or using a buddy system during Veishea to help protect the black community in case of violence. Some students said they thought the rumor may have truth to it.

“They brought it to our campus, they brought it to Welch Avenue – the center of Iowa State,” said Meisha Colbert, sophomore in pre-advertising. “They could start a lot of things. This is real, and we need to realize that.”

Randall Watts, freshman in computer engineering, said he is especially wary of this weekend because Veishea will be on April 20, the second anniversary of the Columbine shooting.

Other students said the buddy system may not work and may inflame tensions.

“Are we going to get harassed if we use a buddy system?” said Xavier Allen, senior in management information systems. “We have in the past. If people see more than five black people in a group, people get nervous.”

Loras Jaeger, director of DPS, said his officers will be prepared for this weekend’s events.

“We have 88 radios on Welch Avenue that have direct contact with Ames police and us,” he said. “We have employees who know the Ballard group. We will stop them immediately, but they have assured us they’re not going to be there.”

Many members of the audience said they felt racial tensions were higher than ever before this year. Kay Harvey, sophomore in zoology, said this is true because “people are becoming more outward in their opinions about how they feel about other people.”

Hill said fears shouldn’t stop members of the black community from participating in Veishea events.

“You know what it’s like being black in America,” he said. “There are a few places you won’t go. We don’t have enough police to avoid every situation. I’d like to say that you can go anywhere, any place, any time but that can’t happen”