City of Ames officials question the feasibility of Iowa State President Martin Jischke’s challenge for students to eliminate excessive alcohol in order to keep the tradition of Veishea.

Ames City Councilman Ted Tedesco said alcohol abuse is clearly the main factor for problems that occur during Veishea weekend.

Jischke announced at Wednesday night’s Government of the Student Body meeting that in order to keep Veishea alive at ISU the students must take a pledge to make the campus alcohol-free during the celebration.

Jischke said he would meet with university student leaders and members of the Ames city council for suggestions about how to implement the plan.

He said the City of Ames can help, but it can not save Veishea.

The decision to keep Veishea is now in the hands of the students, Jischke said.

He said students must decide in the next four to six weeks whether they will take the pledge.

Tedesco said Jischke’s suggestion of eliminating alcohol on university property has merit, but he also offered a question.

“If the university says no alcohol on campus, does it just move out into the streets and become a more difficult problem to control?” he asked.

The city invests about $50,000, Tedesco said, to provide police protection and traffic control during Veishea, but “when events happen such as last year’s [murder] and other years’ riots, all we get is negative publicity.”

Ames Mayor Larry Curtis said the city plays a key role in monitoring the activities of Veishea with the visibility of law enforcement.

As an ISU student in the 1950s, Tedesco said Veishea was more of a recruiting tool and showcase for the university, rather than the party weekend it is now.

“It was a positive image-maker for the city and the students and the university,” he said.

Other city council members agreed that Veishea has gotten out of control.

“When things get out of hand, it [Veishea] is a big black eye for the City of Ames,” Councilwoman Anne Campbell said. “When things go well, it’s something we’ve loved for 75 years.”

Tedesco said both Ames and ISU have a responsibility to save Veishea. “I think it’s got to be a coordinated effort between the two entities,” he said.

He also said Welch Avenue businesses must help curb Veishea-related disturbances.

“We need to have a cooperative effort from the business community that quite honestly profits from the sale of alcohol,” Tedesco said.

Tedesco noted that being able to buy alcohol cheaper than soft drinks “creates an imbalance where you are promoting the drinking of alcohol. They [the businesses] have to realize this is a problem.”

Campbell said, “The idea of having a completely dry town for Veishea is not going to happen.”

ISU student leaders are more optimistic.

Inter-Residence Hall Association President Jay McLaren said he is very pleased Jischke has put his faith in the students.

“I know that this policy is going to be tough to implement, but I think this act of good faith that he has shown toward the students will hopefully motivate them into creating a good atmosphere, a safe environment and kind of try to curb the excessive use of alcohol so we don’t have an incident like we did last year,” he said.

McLaren said students have to decide if they think the pledge is a realistic goal. He said he believes the students can carry out the pledge.9

IRHA is one of the focus groups Jischke has asked to pledge to stay dry over Veishea.

“Right now we’ll just get input from students and in my mind I believe the majority of students in the residence halls will back the idea of no alcohol consumption during Veishea weekend,” McLaren said.

McLaren agrees the responsibility is up to the students.

“But it’s not in my hands; it’s in the students’ hands,” he said.