Even though people from around the state of Iowa may flock to Ames this weekend to celebrate Veishea, some ISU students have chosen to leave town as the student-run festival begins.

Since Veishea became an alcohol-free celebration in 1998, some ISU students have chosen to venture elsewhere during the weekend because they believe the spirit behind Veishea has been diminished.

Vince Nigro, freshman in exercise and sport science, is one of those students. “I am leaving town because Veishea will be going on,” he said.

Nigro said he doesn’t want to stay in Ames this weekend because of the extra people who visit and the fact that Veishea is now dry.

“A lot of families will be in Ames, and there will be no drinking here,” he said. “My friends and I have wanted to go to Iowa City and visit other friends for a while and figured with Veishea going on, now would be a good time to go.”

Yet not everyone is leaving solely because of Veishea. For some ISU students, packing up and hitting the road is a regular part of the weekend.

Eric Hoelmer, junior in electrical engineering, said he might be going home this weekend. “I just haven’t been home for a while. It’s nothing against Veishea particularly,” he said.

Hoelmer said Veishea is a good event, but he’s not interested in it.

“I think it’s great for Iowa State, but I don’t know for sure if I’ll be participating,” he said. “I’m kind of indifferent.”

Nathan VanWyk, freshman in pre-business, goes home every weekend to visit his girlfriend, and he said he doesn’t see any reason to stay in town.

“Nothing about Veishea grabbed my attention to say, ‘Hey, why not stay?'” VanWyk said. “Nothing during Veishea interests me enough, but maybe I just don’t know enough about it.”

Another student who is heading home is Jill Grinstead, junior in transportation and logistics. “There are no activities of interest to be involved in,” Grinstead said. “I would rather visit friends at home.”

Too many cops and not enough events are also factors that keep Grinstead at bay.

Grinstead said she views Veishea as a normal weekend, and she would like it if more people outside of the ISU community could get involved.

“Veishea is just another weekend to me. It is nothing special anymore,” she said. “More people participated before it went dry. When Veishea became dry, many people became disinterested.”