The Veishea issue has popped up again as the Government of the Student Body and Inter-Residence Hall Association have planned to vote on it this week.

The student groups will decide whether they support an alcohol-free Veishea or if they need to amend the bill. This is a good opportunity for us to contact our student leaders and tell them how we’d like them to vote. This is my personal plea to student groups to get a spine!

I think the entire campus agreed that something had to be done about Veishea last year. The death of a student during the celebration two years ago should not go unnoticed or without tribute.

Veishea needs to be refocused, and students needed to realize the seriousness of the incident. However, last year’s solution was a joke and an embarrassment.

How can Jischke call it a success when over half of the students left town? The administration paints a pretty picture of the weekend.

They make it sound as if the entire student body took the pledge and had good clean fun all weekend. Actually, Jischke’s scare tactics sent most students on the first train out of town.

Jischke probably couldn’t see everything from his bay window at the Knoll, but there was plenty of beer at the “alcohol-free” Veishea. In fact, I don’t know a single person who took the pledge and meant it.

I know greeks who took the pledge because they had to and then stayed the weekend at a friend’s house so they wouldn’t get caught.

I know lots people who had parties and plenty more who spent the weekend at the bar. They may have sucked most of the fun out of Veishea but not all of the beer.

The reason that Veishea went without incident is because we were responsible and we realized that it was time to act our age.

This week we need to act our age again. We are intelligent students; we know our rights and need to find our spines.

I cannot believe President Jischke snowballed so many students into believing he had the power to tell us whether we could assemble and associate freely over the weekend — two rights guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution.

And for those of us over 21, whether we could drink — another guaranteed right.

It’s painfully obvious that as a university president, he doesn’t have that sort of power.

Jischke was not acting presidential. He was acting dictatorial when he told us if we didn’t stay alcohol-free, he would take away the nation’s largest student-run celebration.

Maybe it was the pressure from wealthy donating alumni that caused him to use such extreme measures.

Regardless, we know he can’t take away our constitutional rights. Are we all too scared to rock the boat?

Aren’t you insulted by his overuse of power and underestimation of our intelligence?

I didn’t take that stupid pledge last year, nor do I plan to this year. I’m an adult, and I live in a free country.

Furthermore, I will not allow a power-hungry egomaniac who looks out for the interests of alumni and their cash more than mine dictate my life — even if it’s only for one weekend.

People say, “Well, if you are so immature that you can’t give-up one weekend of drinking, you don’t deserve it.”

Bullshit. Of course I don’t need to drink that weekend, but I’ll probably want to. And I probably will.

After all, I’m a grown-up, and it’s my right. Besides, it’s not about being able to drink, it’s about principle.

Think about it. If university administrators actually had the right to tell the entire student body that they can’t drink at student celebrations, would Iowa State be the only one?

And would it just be used over Veishea? Hell no. If that were true, the University of Northern Iowa would have made their homecoming alcohol-free a long time ago.

So, in the spirit of revolution, I propose a three-pronged solution:

A) Lift the pseudo alcohol ban. It was a farce in the first place. What kind of successful student celebration runs half of the students out of town in fear of their dictator?

B) Improve the activity schedule for the weekend, giving us other things to do besides party. The concert at Hilton was a good idea, but let’s get some decent bands this year.

In addition, how about an all-day, outdoor festival of music and art with local and regional bands like Medulla Oblongata and the Nadas, and bring in the Samples or Hello Dave.

Also, display student and local drawings, sculpture, painting, etc.

C) And lastly, have a memorial for Uri Sellers and his family. Some sort of theme dedicated to him, maybe a dinner, or T-shirts and pins.

What happened was a tragedy, but those involved have been dealt with. Why sentence the entire student body to an alcohol-free Veishea for the rest of their careers? Let those who want to have an alcohol-free Veishea have one, respect Uri Sellers, and leave the rest of the students alone.

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Sarah Leonard is a senior in political science and journalism and mass communication from Lawler.