As many battles continue to rage on the Iowa State campus, I felt it was time to voice my opinion about the Veishea debate.

It seems there have been two misunderstandings which have fueled the debate over whether or not to get rid of alcohol during Veishea.

The first is the belief that alcohol itself is the cause for the problems during Veishea, and that alcohol played a key role in the death of Uri Sellers. In fact, what is really to blame is irresponsible people. In almost any situation where alcohol is involved in some tragedy, the fault really can be placed at the feet of the irresponsible consumer.

Michael Runyan admitted to not only consuming a fair amount of alcohol the night of Sellers’ death, but he also admitted to “popping pills” before coming to Ames. Sounds pretty irresponsible to me.

And in the numerous cases where people have died or lapsed into comas at parties, it has been due their own lack of responsibility.

I would also like to point out that fights and accidents occur when alcohol is not a factor, but irresponsibility is never far away. One final point: drinking and driving.

Can you blame a beverage when people step into their car when they know they have been drinking? I didn’t think so. It’s the person’s fault.

The second misunderstanding has been kind of a murmuring rather than a debate. This is the belief that ISU must have a serious drinking problem if students would be willing to sacrifice a 75-year tradition over alcohol.

My response is that we AREN’T willing to do that; however, we will stand up for our right to be responsible for ourselves, and have a beer, or a glass of wine or whatever.

We are adults, aren’t we? It would be both unfair and distrusting for the university to try to squelch the consumption of alcohol during a festivity which became a time to celebrate both academics and life.

If the university is going to set a precedent such as that, I fear what the future at ISU will bring. I ask all students, both of-age and not, to take a pledge of responsibility for Veishea weekend.

If, to you, that means you should not drink, then don’t drink. If you think you can consume responsibly, then do so. I’ll bet if everyone is willing to do this, Veishea would be the best celebration this university has ever seen.

James Reinig

Junior

Ceramic engineering