So, another Veishea has come and gone. The cherry pies have all been sold, the off-campus parties have all been busted, and it’s time to take stock once again of the biggest student-run, alcohol-free celebration in the nation.

To tell you the truth, Veishea just didn’t seem that much fun. There were high points, but overall, Veishea was uninspiring. It seemed to be missing something vitally important.

A purpose.

Don’t get me wrong. The students who organized and ran Veishea, both those on the Veishea committees and those who worked within their clubs and departments, did a great job, and their time and effort should be applauded.

But maybe we should step back from the hard work and dedication and leadership opportunities that Veishea provides. Maybe we should step back from the debate and confusion that the wet and dry distinctions have caused.

Maybe we should step back and examine Veishea for what it is right now.

But maybe we can’t, because no one can quite figure out what Veishea is supposed to be.

Veishea started out in 1922 as a way to present the accomplishments of Iowa State to the outside community. It evolved through the years as a party for students, culminating in property-damaging riots in the 1980s and early 1990s. Although the riotous atmosphere calmed in the latter ’90s, the murder of Uri Sellers on the lawn of the Adelante fraternity changed Veishea dramatically.

There’s no doubt that Sellers’ death demanded action. But the way in which the university has dealt with subsequent Veisheas has turned the celebration away from what it was supposed to be.

Veishea is no longer a showcase for the outside community, considering the events are limited to the “Cyclone Family.”

It is also no longer a party for students, considering few events are catered specifically to students and the university’s ominous rules about alcohol keep students afraid to do much of anything.

And, despite popular opinion, alcohol is not the issue. Not at all.

Students still drink. In fact, students still drink a lot. They’re just not drinking out in the open as much, because they don’t know what will happen to them if they get caught.

But students will realize soon that as long as they are of age and off campus, the university can’t do anything to them. As soon as they realize that there’s no real change in alcohol policy as long as your not on campus, they’ll stop worrying about getting caught and start drinking more again.

And then we’ll be back where we started, with two huge changes:

The majority of students won’t feel like they have anything to do with Veishea, and the majority of folks outside the “Cyclone Family” still won’t be able to experience Iowa State.

So what will the dry-Veishea policy have accomplished?

Nothing.

Some think that the “absence” of alcohol is preventing violence. But during this last weekend, a tragedy like Sellers’ death could have happened just as easily as it did three years ago.

True, fewer people came to Veishea just looking for trouble. But even without outside “troublemakers,” Veishea 2000 was still ripe with opportunity for a tragedy.

Just ask the intoxicated student on Welch Avenue Friday night who lost control of his bicycle and landed on his head. The kid easily could have killed himself.

Or what about the students at parties in houses on Hunt Avenue Friday night? There were several arrests, several shouting matches with police, and a huge crowd of people gathering around after the cops ran through Welch to get to the parties. There easily could have been another riot.

Alcohol abuse, police altercations, accidents. The things that gave Veishea a bad name for all those years aren’t gone. They’re just under the surface, and they will happen again.

It’s the things that have been good about Veishea that are in danger.

Despite what Veishea organizers say, student participation seems to be at an all-time low. There still weren’t near as many students on Welch Friday and Saturday nights as there were the year before the change to a dry Veishea, even though the weather was great on Friday. Although there were all kinds of alumni, Ames residents and families at the parade, there seemed to be very few students. The same with the booths and stands. Lots of families, but few students.

And the Cyclone Family? The Cyclone Family has already seen Iowa State. Why bother showcasing the university’s strengths to people who already know all about them?

Alumni and their families are the ones to whom Veishea is now catered. But they are not the ones Veishea was ever supposed to be for.

I don’t want to do away with Veishea. But I do think we need to seriously reevaluate the meaning and function of Veishea.

Let’s start over with this student-run celebration. We need to decide what it’s really going to be — a showcasing event primarily for “outsiders” or a spring celebration primarily for students.

Right now Veishea is neither.

It won’t be significant until we know what it is.

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Sara Ziegler is a senior in journalism and political science from Sioux Falls, S.D. She is editor in chief of the Daily.