I was walking across campus in the rain yesterday when I happened to run into a bizarre spectacle. Hanging outside of Curtiss Hall were several dozen pairs of blue jeans. My curiosity got the better of me, and I went over to see why these blue jeans were abandoned on campus to be drenched by the rain.

They were part of the Jeans Project, a propaganda piece designed to speak out against alcohol. Of course, I realized that its timing couldn’t have been better. Although it does display that alcohol can do horrible things to people (a statement that I don’t disagree with, but I also realize that alcohol doesn’t hurt everybody), it is merely a promotional tool to discourage people from drinking this weekend. “Come on! Support Dry Veishea,” I heard it screaming to me.

But the Jeans Project got me thinking about this year’s Veishea and the things that I and others have had to say about it. I have to admit, I’m beginning to feel kind of ashamed of myself.

It’s easy to stand up and say, “To hell with a dry Veishea. I won’t have the university telling me what I can and can’t do.” While I still believe that it’s none of the university’s business who drinks and who doesn’t, and I certainly believe that the university has no right to limit what anybody can do (after all, isn’t a university supposed to be a place where people learn to be responsible, free thinkers?), I can’t help but see a bigger picture emerging here.

I’m certain that people are split in their thinking when it concerns dry Veishea. I know people who applaud the idea. I also know people who despise the idea. But what we think really doesn’t matter anymore because Veishea is upon us, and we can no longer change it. We can only go along for the ride and see where it takes us.

I know a lot of people who are positive that a riot will take place over Veishea. They base their predictions on a number of things that are irrelevant or insubstantial. Things like the disturbance at Towers, the lack of something to do, or personal opinions that the administration is trying to take away all of our rights.

Well, I don’t think that some tiny disturbance at Towers foreshadows several thousand people getting together to riot. I also don’t think that the stripping away all of our Constitutional rights is going to incite several thousand people to riot.

After all, no crowd of that magnitude gathered to support The September 29th Movement when it was denied freedom of assembly or freedom of speech. It would be pretty sick (and ironic) if thousands of people rioted because they couldn’t get drunk, yet these same people ignore the bigger problems on this campus (for example, free speech zones or a lack of multiculturalism).

As for the “nothing to do” problem, if you can’t find something fun to do this weekend that doesn’t involve alcohol, then you must be dead. There are plenty of fun things to do all weekend. Not only is there a lot to do, but the entertainment cost is extremely cheap. Three dollars to $5 for a ticket to see 35″ Mudder, The Flaming Lips, Tonic and The Crystal Method? You absolutely cannot beat that.

I’ve heard a lot of complaints from people who think that the Veishea entertainment committee did a poor job of selecting bands. I’d have to wholeheartedly disagree with those complaints. The committee did the best it could with what it had. In fact, it has done a lot better than anyone ever expected.

I’m thankful for all of the hard work and dedication that the committee put into this year’s festival to make it the most musically-diverse attraction to hit Iowa this year. The only problem that I have is that the committee (and the press, for that matter) insists on saying that the Crystal Method is the first techno act to play in this area. That’s completely false. The M-Shop has had My Scarlet Life twice now in the last year-and-a-half. But I digress.

I know that in the past I have urged all of you to partake in alcohol this weekend in an attempt to toss the administration’s yoke off of our necks. I have urged you to use illicit substances or to simply leave Ames this weekend and party somewhere else. I was wrong to do so. By following that line of advice, you will only be showing the administration that the only things we care about are the types of alcohol we are drinking and the size of the parties we can throw. When we show them this, they have won the battle.

The same thing applies towards potential riots this weekend. I know many of you expect me to endorse rioting this weekend. After all, I’m the liberal, the communist, the activist, the Gen-X slacker multiculturalist. But I am also a man, and I am going to act like a man this weekend. I am going to walk away from alcohol and rioting this weekend. I’m going to have lots of fun with my family without drinking or burning down The Knoll. I’m going to turn my back on these things, and I suggest you do the same thing.

After all, the administration expects things to get out of hand this weekend. They have planned for it well in advance. They are all secretly hoping that we will drink and riot. Then they will be the righteous, and we will be the damned. All of our arguments against the administration’s blatant disregard of the Constitution and our personal freedoms will be shattered.

Let’s prove them wrong for once. Let’s show them that we can have a good time without drinking. Let’s show them that we can be ruled by a tyrannical establishment and not uprise.

But at the same time, don’t forget that the university has restricted our rights. Don’t forget that the administration keeps on beating us into submission with threats of punishment. Keep those things in mind and keep a tight reign on your anger.

There are going to be plenty of newspaper and television reporters around, all of whom will be expecting a drunken riot. Walk up to these people and tell them that you respect the university’s rules and regulations, but that you wish they would respect the Constitution and the thoughts and ideas of its students. That will go further towards bringing change at this university than a riot could ever hope to do.

And if you still have a strong desire to riot, do it some time after this weekend when the administration is least expecting it. I will gladly join you then on your march to burn down The Knoll.

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Ben Jones is a sophomore in English from Ankeny.