To the editor:

Jenny Joanning said she does not know what Veishea was like before it went dry but she assumes it had to be more fun. Guess what? A lot of students went home to do laundry before it was dry. Not much has changed.

Veishea was still a very family-oriented event designed to draw alumni and their children who might become Cyclones to campus.

We still had the over-priced, fried-food-on-a-stick, long-outgrown carnival, cherry pies and a lot of booths on campus.

The parade may have been larger before they put spending limits and work-time restrictions on the floats. Bringing in big-name entertainers is relatively new and the reviews over the last few years have been mixed.

But the other big difference is the timing. Most “wet” Veisheas were held the first weekend of May before dead week and classes were recessed on Thursday and Friday.

The long weekend at the end of the semester was perfect for leaving town. We hauled the first carload of stuff back home for the summer or left to interview for summer jobs. Because of this timing, ISU’s classes ran later into the summer than most other schools so ISU students got last-pickings in the summer job market; having that time available for interviews was crucial.

The University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa both recessed earlier, and as a result, many of their students who were finished with finals came to Veishea to party.

That is why Welch Avenue and other party-locations in town used to be so crowded. The old arrest records show many offenses were charged to people who were neither Ames residents nor ISU students.

The campus still saw a huge influx of high school students for Veishea since it was a fun, informal time to check out the campus.

As Ms. Joanning stated, Veishea is the “largest student-run celebration in the country” which does not mean it is strictly FOR the students. Much of the publicity was lackluster compared to days of yore.

If students don’t think the planned events are fun, they should tell the planners what they want to do. While it is nice to hold on to some of the traditions such as the parade and the cherry pies, I would love to see the students become more active in making this festival a portrait of modern life, not just a reflection of the past.

I don’t mind dry Veishea; I will gladly take that if we could still have it in May or have classes recessed for even one day. I agree with Ms. Joanning on one key point:

If students can’t have fun for one weekend without drinking, they don’t need entertainment — they need help!

Brenda Voss

Alumna

Ames