Veishea receives IRHA stamp of approval

Amie Van Overmeer
November 5, 1999

Veishea cleared its final hurdle Thursday night as the Inter-Residence Hall Association gave its approval to the annual event.

IRHA passed a bill accepting the Veishea pledge 13-11 at its meeting in the Maple-Willow-Larch Commons.

IRHA was the last student government body to take the Veishea pledge. With the passage of the IRHA bill, the Veishea committees now can begin making plans for this year’s celebration.

The bill also included a clause asking the Department of Residence to remove a section of the Terms and Conditions that calls for an alcohol-free campus during Veishea.

There was extensive debate over the bill that eventually passed and a similar bill that did not ask the Department of Residence to change the Veishea clause in the Terms and Conditions.

A separate Veishea bill, which rejected the Veishea pledge, was earlier introduced and voted down 9-15.

Supporters of the successful bill said the issues of the Veishea pledge and the Terms and Conditions contract belong together.

“This bill addresses a lot of concerns students have about Veishea,” said Chris Benson, Birch-Welch-Roberts Hall.

Proponents of the bill said residence hall students want Veishea, but they also want administrators to know they are not completely happy with their tactics.

“Students had a lot of discontent with the Department of Residence,” said Jason Hahn, Wilson Hall. “I feel they want to see Veishea.”

Some opponents of the bill said the pledge and the Department of Residence clause should be separated.

“We could take the Terms and Conditions issue to another bill so we can think it out better,” said Erin Link, Union Drive Association president.

But although Link did not support the bill, she was glad to see Veishea receive the go-ahead. “I’m glad to see the pledge taken, in any form,” she said.

IRHA Vice President Joe Foster said the vote of 13-11 was misleading because many of the “no” votes came from representatives who wanted to pass a third bill that did not address the Terms and Conditions Veishea clause.

That bill was ruled out of order after the first bill was passed.

“The vote might have been very different if there was no other bill,” Foster said. “People who voted ‘no’ might have had another chance to vote for the pledge if the first had failed.”

UDA in particular had many supporters of the bill that was found to be out of order. Of the 13 votes in favor of the passed bill, only two came from UDA.

IRHA also decided not to include the word “alcohol-free” in a section of the bill that “encouraged everybody to have a safe, multicultural and enjoyable Veishea.”

Some parliament members expressed concern that Iowa State President Martin Jischke might not consider a bill that didn’t contain the words “alcohol-free” to be a sufficient mandate for a dry Veishea.

Chris Robert, UDA at-large, said Jischke said in a special IRHA meeting Tuesday night that the exact wording of the bill would not be important.

“I asked Jischke if our bill had to say ‘safe and alcohol-free Veishea,'” he said. “He said the spirit and sincerity of the pledge is the most important.”

Student votes on Veishea pledge