To those of you who feel Martin Jischke’s proposal for a dry Veishea is a good idea, I have a reality check for you: Veishea weekend will never be alcohol-free. Even if, by some miracle, the students vote for banning all alcohol during Veishea, we will still have just as many intoxicated individuals as we have become accustomed to on those Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Am I failing to give ISU students the credit they deserve? Absolutely not. Sure, the senators, vice president and president of GSB probably will not consume during Veishea. I’m willing to bet my laundry money that the general co-chairs of the Veishea committee won’t crack open a case of beer.

However, this campus is not made up entirely of GSB senators and general co-chairs. It is made up of a large number of adult-aged students without adult responsibilities and nothing better to do on a weekend except get trashed. These students will continue inviting their old buddies to ISU to show them what a REAL party is like. A dry Veishea will never happen as long as current practices continue.

So, how do we bring all the violence to a halt? Take the “party” out of Veishea. Keep the parade, the student-run booths and the departmental open houses. Allow prospective ISU students to see the academic side of this great university. Then stop at that. Forget “Taste of Veishea.” Skip “Rock-da-Rec” and any other event after 5:00 pm that involves a large number of students. Find a new name and date for the event, and turn it into what Veishea used to be: a showcase for Iowa State University. Just imagine. We may start a new tradition that will last another 75 years.

Erin Silbaugh

Junior

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