A forum for student opinions concerning the future of Veishea will be held Friday afternoon in the Gallery of the Memorial Union.

ISU President Martin Jischke has stated that Veishea may only continue through 1998 if the student body pledges to make the festival alcohol-free, and this is his effort to gather opinions from the student body on the potential pledge.

Continuation of Iowa State’s 75-year Veishea tradition is being questioned due to the April 1997 murder of Uri Sellers and an increase in rioting and personal injury each year.

The event will take place from noon until 2 p.m. and is being sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs.

Rebecca Miller, vice president of student affairs, said the event is a chance for student leaders to report to both the president and the community about where their organizations stand on the Veishea issue. She said it will also provide an opportunity for any other students or members of the community to bring forth any of their suggestions to further a compromise.

“It is clear that President Jischke needs to make a decision soon on the future of Veishea, but he needs the students’ input in order to do that,” Miller said.

The panel of eight will consist of both student leaders and university officials.

Participating on Friday will be Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs; Ben Dohrmann and Kathryn Whittaker, Veishea 1998 co-chairs; Mark Holm, ISU Inter-Fraternity Council president; Jay McLaren, ISU Inter-Residence Hall Association president; Sonja Rice, Panhellenic Council president; and Robert Wiese, ISU Government of the Student Body.

John McCarroll, director of university relations, will serve as moderator.

All panel members will have an opportunity to present opening remarks, and then questions will be taken from members of the audience. Everyone is asked to limit any questions or comments to three minutes so everyone will receive an opportunity to voice their opinion.

McCarroll pointed out that this forum has been in the works from day one. “Jischke planned to hold a forum for students, faculty, and the Ames community once the fall semester got underway, and this is a fulfillment of that intention,” he said.

Although this forum is intended to be run in an open format, McCarroll said all opinions and questions are to be strictly limited to the topic of Veishea. As moderator, he plans to stick to the intended format, as it is not an open call to discuss all problems facing the university.

An all-student round table discussion on Veishea called “We Gotta Talk,” sponsored by the GSB, the Student Union Board and the Committee on Lectures, is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

The round table is intended to be a continuation of the forum. Any students that did have not had a chance to let their student leaders know how they feel about Veishea can do so. Discussion will also deal with what, if any, advancements were made during Friday’s debate.

Although “We Gotta Talk” is a follow-up to the forum, they are not related. Since the event will be student-run, no faculty or staff are expected to attend.