The Government of the Student Body decided Wednesday to postpone any definite decision on whether to support an alcohol-free Veishea until it meets again next week.

The only bill up for discussion at Wednesday night’s GSB meeting was titled “Support a Safe and Alcohol-Free Veishea 1999,” which requested GSB’s renewed support of the students’ pledge for a dry Veishea.

“I think this is a good idea,” said Justin Hattan, LAS, who wrote the bill. “It worked last year, so let’s do it again.”

However, there was some hesitation from other senators on whether to vote on the bill right away.

Wade Demmer, engineering, said he felt GSB should put off voting until next week because it needed further consideration.

“One of the reasons that I put off discussing it was because I knew [LAS Sen. Mike] Pogge had an amendment, and if we voted on it without spending enough time considering it, we may have made a decision we would later regret,” Demmer said.

He said he did not have a problem with the way the bill was written but simply needed more time to consider his decision.

“The bill itself is pretty clear cut — it’s the same bill we had in the past,” Demmer said. “I also agree that Veishea is too special to lose just because we can’t drink for one weekend.”

However, Demmer also said he thought there were some questions raised about the bill.

“The thing I look at is this: The Veishea bill seems to equate safe with alcohol free, but alcohol free doesn’t necessarily imply safe and vice versa. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, but the administration seems to think the only way we can have a safe Veishea is if it’s alcohol free,” he said.

Pogge also questioned the implications made from the phrase “alcohol free.”

“Regular weekends aren’t alcohol free — does that mean that regular weekends aren’t safe?” he said.

“Last year’s Veishea was a complete and utter success. I mean, the students proved that we are behind Veishea, and I’m willing to take the pledge, but I guess my underlying question is what is the purpose for it, and why are we doing this again?” Pogge said.

“I believe we already proved our commitment to Veishea and the concept of continuing Veishea last year,” he said.

Demmer expressed similar thoughts.

“The big thing people are a little hesitant about is, OK, do we have to do this every year?” he said.

Pogge also expressed frustration with the campus security during last year’s event.

“A lot of people are concerned that the law enforcement agencies and the university overreacted,” he said.

“People were expecting us to screw up, and they were ready to pounce the second we did. I question whether we should continue Veishea under these conditions,” he said. “It’s a celebration of ISU — not a celebration of ISU’s police power.”

However, Pogge said in general, he supports an alcohol-free Veishea.

“I think when it comes down to what Veishea is, it needs to be alcohol free. Veishea is not a celebration of alcohol — it’s a celebration of ISU and what makes ISU great. Alcohol happens to be one of those things that doesn’t make ISU great,” he said.

Pogge said he felt last year’s Veishea was a complete success.

“I really think Veishea is a wonderful celebration, and I think last year was a wonderful direction for Veishea, and something that needed to occur,” he said.

Demmer said the bill will probably pass when it is voted on next Wednesday.

“I think it will pass, but I think it will pass more because everyone knows that if it doesn’t pass, we won’t get to have a Veishea,” he said. “It’s more to appease the administration.”

Pogge also said he thinks the bill will pass.

“No one that is taking this pledge is going to vote ‘no’ on it,” he said. “No organization will vote ‘no’ on it because they don’t want to be the organization that kills Veishea. We are doing it sincerely, but no one is going to vote ‘no,’ because no one wants to kill Veishea.”

Demmer said the main issue to consider is how the students feel about it.

“I would really like to see students talk to their GSB senators and tell us what you think. I would personally really like to hear my constituents’ feelings on this,” he said. “It’s a student-run celebration by the students, for the students, and of the students, and I think we really need to hear from them.”