The number of arrests made during this year’s Veishea celebration was about half as many as last year, a drop-off local police said was due in part to lower attendance at the student-run event.

In 1999, the ISU Department of Public Safety arrested 42 people, of which 21 were ISU students. This year, there were 22 arrests during the weekend, mostly for alcohol offenses, and only nine of those arrested were students, said Loras Jaeger, director of DPS.

Similarly, the number of arrests made by Ames Police also dropped this year, with only 22 arrests and six citations given over Veishea weekend, compared to the 47 arrests made in 1999, said Sgt. Michael Johns, public information officer for the Ames Police Department.

Most of the arrests made by Ames Police on Friday and Saturday were alcohol related, Johns said. Ames officers made 11 arrests for public intoxication and charged two individuals with driving under the influence.

Police attributed the dramatic drop in arrests to a drop in attendance. “I think those that wanted to drink alcohol left for the weekend,” Jaeger said.

The colder weather on Saturday night also contributed to smaller crowd sizes and number of people getting into trouble, Jaeger said.

Johns said attendance at Veishea activities was considerably lower than the last two dry Veisheas.

“I don’t think [activities] were as heavily attended,” he said.

Johns said he spent the weekend patrolling Welch Avenue and the Taste of Veishea area, and he noticed the crowd sizes around the food courts and band stage were not as large as they have been in years past.

Jaeger said he was glad students who felt they couldn’t contribute something to Veishea without abusing alcohol left the community for the weekend, and he commended those students who stayed and celebrated Veishea responsibly.

“I tip my hat to the students,” he said.