So, the debate over Veishea continues. There has been much discussion about the amount of drinking during the celebration and what we as students have to do about it.

So, I feel inclined to contribute my two cents on the issue.

To recap, President Jischke proposed that Iowa State students “eliminate excessive alcohol on campus or eliminate Veishea.” This has been met with some enthusiasm and a whole lot of whining.

The average ISU student does not want to have to forsake the age-old tradition of getting wasted during this “University Showcase” weekend.

Okay, so we don’t like this idea of a dry Veishea for many reasons. First, people continually say that drinking during Veishea is what makes it so much darn fun.

Drinking is imperative to maturing as a college student, they say. It is a way to test our limits and walk on the edge, and Veishea isn’t near as much of a good time without it.

But that doesn’t hold water with me. I don’t drink, and I attended my first Veishea last spring without a drop of alcohol. And hey, guess what? I still had fun!

What, that’s possible? To have fun without drinking?

But then people say the actual problem at Veishea isn’t even the drinking of the Iowa State students; the problem is all of the non-Ames folks who visit the campus.

We don’t like having to shoulder responsibility for them. But, they are our problem. They are our guests, invited by our promise of debauchery and all-around fun.

Michael Runyan and Luke Abrams, along with thousands of other out-of-town visitors, came to ISU last spring because Veishea is synonymous with “drunken brawl.”

Partiers from out of town know they can drink, so they make the trek to Ames.

Runyan and Abrams, both under the age of 21, were trying to get into an alcohol-saturated party on the morning of April 20 when they stabbed Uri Sellers.

They were in Ames expressly for the purpose of partying. No one can tell me they were here to learn more about our university and its traditions.

Now, I don’t know if disallowing alcohol at all Veishea functions would discourage all partying and troublemaking visitors from coming, but I bet that it would have a serious impact.

Would you come all the way to Ames to drink if you knew you couldn’t?

We also don’t like Dr. Jischke’s proposal because it seems the administration is telling us what to do, a notion that is inherently unbearable.

However, the fact is that 9,762 of the 24,899 students enrolled at ISU in 1996 are under the age of 21 and are already being told by the law what they can and cannot do.

Over and over, you hear of underage kids being the main participants in alcohol-related accidents and fights.

This is happening on campus, in residence halls and in greek houses, not at off-campus parties where the participants are generally older.

So let’s look at the consequence of this excessive alcohol use.

Uri Sellers’s death last spring was an event that touched all of us.

We were all horrified at what happened on our campus. But what are we actually doing to ensure that it never happens again?

There are other, less visible tragedies as well. Last spring, I covered the Take Back the Night rally for the Daily. I heard a young woman speak on being raped at the age of 19.

Her story had a sadly familiar ring to it — she was at a party, had too much to drink (as did her attacker) and was raped.

Speakers at the rally informed us that approximately one in four college women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape.

They also touched on alcohol as being involved in the majority of all reported rapes. Julie Wooden, an organizer of Take Back the Night, said the event was purposely scheduled during the week before Veishea because “Veishea is known as a party weekend and a lot of alcohol is involved.”

Do you see a common theme here? Lots of alcohol and lots of tragic outcomes.

There are many people who will say that they party safely and have never had a problem, but I have to believe that those involved in alcohol-induced accidents thought the same thing before it happened to them.

As long as alcohol is a part of the Veishea celebration, these types of happenings will continue.

It’s inevitable.

I know that ISU students will continue to drink, and I’m not trying to be self-righteous about it, because I respect the fact that everyone must decide for themselves whether they will or will not drink.

But, I have a difficult time hearing things about how we, as students, need to drink during Veishea because it’s a way to test our limits and walk on the edge, which somehow teaches us to be truly responsible.

Walking on the edge during a weekend like Veishea is stupid and dangerous.

How many Veisheas will it take to prove this to us?

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Sara Ziegler is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.