The sale of alcoholic beverages outside Cyclone Stadium before football games was defended Wednesday morning by Iowa State President Martin Jischke.

On WOI’s “Talk of Iowa,” a monthly call-in show, Jischke said the purpose of allowing Wallaby’s Restaurant to sell alcoholic beverages before games is to create a more “festive atmosphere.”

He said by making the atmosphere at the games more appealing, the university hopes to increase ticket sales.

More people in the crowd would not only help Cyclone football remain self-supportive, but would also help provide 75 percent of the athletic department’s budget when combined with men’s basketball, Jischke said.

Callers were concerned that the new policy may be contrary to past university policies concerning alcohol use by students and faculty, especially during Veishea.

Jischke said old policies were primarily aimed at preventing underage drinking and the problems caused by over consumption. He said the new policy is taking note of the fact that most students are of legal drinking age and 25 percent are over 25.

The other big topic of the morning was the changes the university is making for nontraditional students.

One of the biggest changes has been through the Iowa Communications Network. The network is working on a setup where students can take classes across the state using satellite classrooms through a two-way audio-visual hookup with a university class.

“The program will be most effective with those focused on advancing their careers,” Jischke said. “It is one of the waves of the future in higher education.”

The program is one part of a university effort to be more accommodating to students who work.

The university has already expanded office hours in some areas including student counseling services. ISU is offering more evening classes and is shortening the length of some classes to eight weeks.

Jischke also fielded questions about Affirmative Action programs at ISU and how they might change. He said the university offers minority scholarships in an effort to keep access to the university open to as many people as possible.

“We have absolutely no quota or set-asides for admission or hiring,” Jischke said. “We do have the goals of inclusiveness and nondiscrimination.”

He said the university is trying to put more emphasis on basic education classes and instructors who are not necessarily in research-related fields.