Like many organizations on campus, Veishea receives money from the Government of the Student Body.

With that money comes the trust that those organizations will follow certain rules and regulations, one of which is giving GSB acknowledgment on printed materials.

That’s what the GSB bylaws say, and when an organization doesn’t follow those bylaws, it runs the risk of being caught and punished.

Veishea broke the rules, and now they may face punishment in the way of a substantial cut in the money they receive from the student government.

Although Veishea requested about $32,000 from GSB for the 2001 celebration, the GSB Finance Committee is recommending the senate to allocate about $22,000 less.

Jeremy Williams, GSB finance director, said about half of the recommended cut comes from the money Veishea requested for printing and advertising. The organization’s $5,000 request for electricity also was denied, and an additional $4,000 that covered the Veishea Voyage and other rental issues also was recommended to be cut.

Overall, Veishea stands to lose two-thirds of the money it asked for from GSB.

While $20,000 sounds like a substantial chunk for most people, it actually amounts to only about 15 percent of the Veishea committee’s budget, said Chris Madsen, Veishea treasurer.

Williams said this is the third year GSB has noticed Veishea hasn’t been giving it the proper credit mandated by the bylaws and the second year Veishea’s big posters haven’t displayed GSB’s name.

Anytime you break the rules, there’s a chance you’ll get caught.

Veishea got caught, and now its members are trying to worm their way out of the fall they must inevitably take.

“Not putting GSB on there really killed them,” Williams said. “The Finance Committee said, ‘We’re tired of you always breaking the rules.'”

In response to Veishea’s complaint about the electricity funding, Williams said he would rather give groups renting the electricity more money than give Veishea money to supplement the cost.

It’s not that GSB doesn’t trust Veishea, or that GSB members are mad at Veishea as a whole — GSB just wants to teach the organization a lesson, and it’s time the event’s organizers learned it. Sometimes warnings and threats aren’t enough.

The GSB senators won’t vote on the Finance Committee’s recommendation until mid-March, but we urge them to follow the bylaws that govern them and stand their ground as Veishea representatives try to lobby their vote.

Show Veishea that no organization is excluded from the rules — even Iowa State’s “student-run” celebration.

Iowa State Daily Editorial Board: Sara Ziegler, Greg Jerrett, Kate Kompas, Carrie Tett and David Roepke.