In case you haven’t heard, Veishea’s coming up this weekend. In case you don’t care, Veishea’s coming up this weekend. Where will you be this weekend? If you have any sense, it won’t be in Ames.

Last year, students were asked for input on what they would do to save the 75-year-old festival following the death of Uri Sellers last year.

All major student representative bodies responded by saying they would “pledge” to remain alcohol free. They did so with the assurance that the university would make its resources available for this year’s celebration.

Time and time again, President-for-Life Martin Jischke said he would back the Veishea organizers with money as well as the use of university assets. Veishea’s less than a week away, and we have yet to see that kind of dedication.

We do have bands for Veishea (Tonic and The Crystal Method), but the university refused to allow those bands to play either on Clyde Williams Field or in Hilton Coliseum. Even though Tonic is a nationally-known band (or at least I’ve been told), couldn’t a school with 24,000 students get a band with more universal popularity? Union College, a school with barely 2,000 students in Schenectady, NY, recently announced that Green Day will be playing at its annual Spring Fest celebration in May. Now I know that ISU has just as much money as Union College (one look at the new Howe building will prove that), so why couldn’t they fork over a few more dollars to help ISU students get a really big band?

Another idea: a letter to the editor last week proposed speakers for each of the colleges. Wouldn’t it be impressive to get someone like Lee Iacocca to speak for the business college, or maybe Maya Angelou to speak for the liberal arts college? These ideas do cost money, and it doesn’t seem the university wants to part with it, unless there’s an addition that’s needed at the Knoll.

The city and university have instead chosen to respond with ridiculous laws and regulations that, if seriously challenged, might not stand up to judicial scrutiny.

The shell game began with the announcement that DPS would begin patrolling greekland with four newly- hired officers. I understand the notion that DPS has jurisdiction “all over the State of Iowa,” but my tax and tuition money should not be used for the college cops to involve themselves with my off-campus affairs. If there is a need for more law enforcement in the greek system, why not call the State Patrol or the Story County Sheriff? Maybe DPS should stay on campus for once and deal with the problems that will arise there.

Jischke also asked the city council earlier this year to suspend liquor sales during the weekend. This laughable proposal was thankfully voted down, but the administration went one step further in proposing that vendors publish the names of people buying large quantities of alcohol. Not only were these proposals asinine, but they raised serious right to privacy issues as well.

The Veishea Task Force, composed of university and city officials, as well as local businessmen, asked liquor establishments to “take the Veishea pledge and not advertise beer and liquor specials.” Most of the major bars and stores followed suit, and the news was hailed as a victory for responsible businessmen.

Unfortunately, what the pro-Veishea crowd has failed to notice is that these businesses don’t advertise during Veishea anyway. Places like People’s and the Keg Shop have a steady rush of customers throughout the weekend, and there’s no need to lower prices to attract them.

Next, the city council weighed in and passed some questionable measures as well. They passed a new ordinance on public urination. If you have a few people in your house and the bathroom is full, you’d better wait until it’s free again. If you happen to step outside and relieve yourself and the police see you (even on your own property), they now have the authority to walk in and bust the party no matter how small it might be.

Also, if someone calls the police complaining about the slightest bit of noise, the new “nuisance party” ordinance states that such parties can be summarily broken up, even if they’re otherwise abiding by the law. Each of these new ordinances also carry with them ridiculously large fines.

The university also threatened that any ISU student arrested off-campus during the Veishea weekend would be subject to “university judicial procedures.” Since anything that happens off campus is not Iowa State’s business in the first place, I don’t see how they have the right to extend their jurisdiction throughout Ames. If such a rule is legitimate, does that mean I can be held responsible for my actions in Chicago? How about New York? Better yet, how about Moscow?

Is Veishea really worth all this? Is a parade with a few floats and some food vendors on Welch Avenue really worth all the trouble the university is putting its students through? Last Friday, the Veishea co- Chairs wrote that Veishea provides a resume building opportunity for 100 people. Is this really that important a reason to save Veishea?

I, along with many other people on this campus (more than the university wants to admit), refused to take the Veishea pledge. As a 23-year-old man, I have the right to sit in my own home and have a beer whenever I want. I can understand the problems of underage drinking, but no adult should have to pay the price for mistakes made by minors who voluntarily choose to drink.

It sounds silly to compare drinking beer with freedom, but I ask those of you who are of the drinking age and took the Veishea pledge: How much farther would you allow the government to go in suppressing a freedom you already have in the name of idealism? Many would rather let Veishea die than acquiesce to the will of the university. That idea is not without merit.

The university, through these inane rules, has helped create a very tense atmosphere where the slightest provocation could cause a tragedy. The university’s attempt to save Veishea may in fact prove to be its undoing.

President-for-Life Martin Jischke promised the students help but instead sold us a bum steer. If Veishea ultimately dies, it will be Jischke’s responsibility, not the students’.

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Robert Zeis is a senior in finance from Des Moines.