As Veishea committee members plan on “Building the Future,” they’re using a modern medium to disseminate information about the student-run celebration.

Angie Pithan, Veishea public relations co-chairwoman, said Iowa State President Martin Jischke suggested improving the Web site in order to help make Veishea more successful.

The Veishea Central Committee and Jischke thought the Web page would be a great way to reach students, said Pithan, senior in public service and administration in agriculture.

“A lot of students use the Web because it’s so quick and easy,” she said.

A Web site was used to post information about the celebration for the first time last year, Pithan said.

Scott DeSotel, Veishea general co-chairman, said this year’s Web site is more informative.

“This year’s site is heads above last year’s site,” said DeSotel, senior in agricultural business. “The one used last year was pretty basic. It didn’t even have anything until the weekend of Veishea.”

This year’s site was created by Keith Kmett, member of the Veishea public relations committee.

Kmett, junior in journalism and mass communication, said he has received positive feedback about the site.

“I’m still updating it constantly; I’m the only guy doing it,” he said. “I’m really proud of it, but I still feel like it could use a lot of work.”

Kmett agreed that the page contains valuable facts about Veishea-related events.

“The best thing about it is that it’s full of information. And now that Veishea’s really going strong, it’s got all the information you want,” he said.

The Veishea Web page has been up and running since before winter break, Pithan said.

“Most of the information has been posted in the last month, after decisions were made about the entertainment,” she said.

DeSotel said the site is very accessible to ISU students and Ames residents.

“A lot of calls we receive at the office can be directed to the Web site,” he said. “All the information is located there.”

The site features information about the ticket policies for Dew the Rec and Veishea Center Stage.

Tournament applications and contracts for open houses and the parade also are located at the Web site, Pithan said.

In addition, the site has a sponsor page, a list of the committee members and a feedback form for students to e-mail questions and comments, Pithan said.

“The Web site is a spot for people to directly e-mail questions to people they may not know how to contact,” DeSotel said.

This year’s site already has received more than 5,000 hits, Pithan said, whereas last year’s only received a total of 3,000 hits.

The address for the Web site is www.veishea.org.