Last night, members from the major governing bodies on campus met with Interim President Dick Seagrave to discuss the future of the Veishea pledge.

The only decision concerning the pledge was to continue debating it in two weeks.

The Veishea pledge has served its purpose, and now it should be laid to rest. We don’t need it.

Veishea itself has never been about alcohol. All the events are alcohol-free, and alcohol has never been allowed on campus.

The problems with alcohol were at the events surrounding Veishea, where the university shouldn’t have jurisdiction anyway. It is the job of the city to patrol off-campus parties and the bars just like during other weekends on campus.

Having the Veishea pledge puts the focus on alcohol. The university should try to return the focus of the Veishea back to where it should be – the university and the colleges.

The murder of Uri Sellers, though tragic, had nothing to do with Veishea. Neither Sellers nor his murderers were associated with the university. The murder just happened to take place at an ISU fraternity.

Every year when the discussion about dry Veishea comes up, the ISU administration goes back to the 1997 murder. Sellers’ murder could have happened on any other weekend in Ames.

For the past several years, Veishea has tried to focus on the “Iowa State family.” The dramatic decline of participation in Veishea events has proven at least one thing – it just doesn’t work.

No matter how hard they try, the university can’t keep outsiders from coming to Ames and still expect Veishea be a success.

If Veishea cannot market to and attract outsiders, how can it showcasing the university?

It’s time for Veishea to return to its roots and take the emphasis off alcohol.Editorial Board: Carrie Tett, Greg Jerrett, Katie Goldsmith, Amie Van Overmeer, Andrea Hauser and Jocelyn Marcus