Cold weather doesn’t hinder Veishea

Keesia Wirt
April 21, 1996

Veishea 1996 officially came to a close on Sunday afternoon with the presentation of closing ceremonies.

The ceremonies began with a speech by Arvid Eide, an engineering professor who has been involved in the past 40 Veishea celebrations.

Eide said Veishea is “a truly outstanding and respected tradition” that began in 1922 when the students of Iowa State decided that all of the colleges of ISU should get together to have a common bond. He said there were four primary objectives during the first Veishea. The first was to develop a spirit of unity between the five colleges so all students could get together. The other objectives were to develop a spirit of unity between ISU and the alumni, high school students and the people of Iowa.

He said Veishea continues to be a success because “the students still follow these objectives. They have learned to meet changing times and, most importantly, there is tremendous support from the student body.”

Shellee Novotny, Veishea general co-chair, said she was very pleased with this year’s Veishea celebration.

“To say we are happy with the way things went is an understatement,” Novotny said.

She said she was often asked about the possibility of riots during Veishea 1996 because of the supposed four-year cycle. By not having any riots this year, she said, “The Iowa State University students have proven that the future of Veishea is up to them.”

Novotny said the weather did not affect many of the outdoor Veishea events that were scheduled for the weekend. She said the parade route and A Taste of Veishea were packed despite the cold weather.

One event that was affected by the weather, Novotny said, was the 150th Year Boulevard, which was scheduled to be set up north of Lake LaVerne. It was moved inside to the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

One event that surprised Veishea officials with its turnout was “Roc Da Rec.” Novotny said over 5,000 students showed up on Friday night to participate in the non-alcoholic event.

“People are beginning to associate ‘Roc Da Rec’ with Veishea. The whole first floor of the recreation center was packed and we were really impressed with the turnout for all of the non-alcoholic events,” Novotny said.

Mark Lee, Veishea general co-chair, said their titles may be gone but the memories of the past weekend will last a lifetime. He said it took an estimated 18,000 hours of volunteer work by students to make Veishea the success it was.

“It’s hard for us to believe Veishea 1996 is over. We’ll both miss it immensely. We both plan to attend future Veisheas as alumni, but it will never be the same,” Lee said.

ISU President Martin Jischke said this year was an “absolutely spectacular Veishea.”

“Every year we place in the trust of students the celebration of this university. You have upheld that wonderfully. Thank you very much,” Jischke said.

Award winners for parade floats and college open houses were also announced during the closing ceremonies.

Parade Winners

* Overall Sweepstakes Award, President’s Award for best humor, Liz Kirke Award, Spirit Award: Delta Sigma Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma

* Grand Marshal Award for best theme and originality: Tau Kappa Epsilon and Chi Omega

* The Public Opinion Award and Veishea Gold Star Award: Beta Theta Pi and Gamma Phi Beta

Medium Division

* First Place: Delta Sigma Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma

* Second Place: Phi Delta Theta and Alpha Gamma Delta

* Third Place: Beta Theta Pi and Gamma Phi Beta

Large Division

* First Place: Delta Tau Delta and Delta Delta Delta

* Second Place: Tau Kappa Epsilon and Chi Omega