Since Veishea was shut down, the alumni of Iowa State requested there be a safer tradition for the current students. Iowa State came up with a compromise of having a carnival for all students, with free admission. Like a typical carnival, students would need to buy tickets to participate in games and such. This seemed to be a great compromise.

For the 2018 Cyclone Carnival, there was going to be food, games and family-friendly activities, among other things. There was going to be student organizations coming to perform, such as Grandma Mojo’s and Mariachi Los Amigos De ISU. Students and families could have enjoyed this event, except it got shut down because of the impending weather that was to happen on Saturday.

The first Cyclone Carnival ever put on by Iowa State was cancelled due to weather. Saturday, April 14 was predicted to be in the mid-40s with an 80 percent chance of rain. And those predictions were nearly spot-on, with Saturday being a wet and chilly day. 

Granted, there has been an extremely indecisive weather pattern this year, with the mid-April snowfall and all. I am just left to wonder why there was no backup plan or date? Being the first one and the first of a tradition to replace Veishea, how was there not some sort of backup plan to ensure the event ran smoothly?

Being a first year student and hearing rumors about Veishea and the great spontaneous behavior it conjured out of students, I was excited to see the carnival and how it would make up for the lack of Veishea. It was disappointing to find out they cancelled it due to possible rain.

Veishea was an annual event where students would gather on campus for a whole week and enjoy the “Veishea Village” and some other attractions on campus made by the school. It was meant to be a family friendly event to help the students relax and take time for themselves. However, it was suspended after riots and other disturbing actions. After all this, it is understandable why the school banned Veishea.

Veishea definitely had its issues, but was a beloved tradition, so it is understandable why alumni wanted to bring it, or something similar, back for the new students of Iowa State.

And it was such a great idea to put on a carnival for the university instead, but what I don’t understand is why they weren’t more prepared. Like the old saying says, “April showers bring May flowers.” This common, well-known saying became common and well-known because it turns out to be true more often than not.

What made Iowa exempt from this rule? We are a state with wild and unpredictable weather, and that isn’t news to anyone. 

Iowa State should have had a backup plan for the carnival since it was an attempt to create a replacement for Veishea that could become a new, great tradition. I, for one, was looking forward to the new, and hopefully improved, Veishea substitute. I guess we’ll have to wait till next year to see if it is a good replacement or not.