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The annual VEISHEA celebration is one of the
many rich traditions that form part of the history of Iowa State
University. Celebrated at the end of the spring semester each
year, this weekend of festivities was designed as a celebration
that focuses on entertaining, educating, and promoting
leadership. These were the three original goals of VEISHEA and
although the celebration has significantly changed over the
years, these ideals remain.
VEISHEA was first celebrated in 1922 in an
effort to combine the various spring celebrations put on by each
college at Iowa State into one large all-university
celebration. The name VEISHEA appropriately represents the
origins of the celebration, as it is an acronym for the five
original colleges at Iowa State—Veterinary Medicine,
Engineering, Industrial Science, Home Economics and
Agriculture. The first VEISHEA celebrations mostly focused on
the academic offerings of Iowa State, while providing plenty of
entertainment and social activities. The open houses put on by
campus clubs and departments were the most popular attractions.
One of the most popular open houses was put on by Division of
Home Economics. This display included the selling of the
now-famous cherry pies. Most people who celebrate VEISHEA say
VEISHEA isn't VEISHEA without a cherry pie.
The parade is another tradition that has
withstood the test of time. Although much smaller back in the
1920s when nearly all floats were pulled by horses, the parade
attracted people from across the state. Originally only
academic departments built floats for the parade, but eventually
residence areas also began to build floats. Today, academic
departments, campus organizations, community groups, and
residence areas build floats or have entries in the parade. An
original event that began in 1922 and was renamed in 1925 but no
longer exists is the vaudeville show. This variety show
included skits, musical groups, some sort of musical play or
comedy, and an assortment of circus-like entertainment. In
1922, the original musical theatre production, now known as
Stars Over VEISHEA, was performed as the Nite Show. In 1940 the
event was produced outside under the stars on Clyde Williams
Field, hence the name Stars Over VEISHEA. This event is now
held inside in C.Y. Stephens’s auditorium.
In an effort to focus on academics, in the
early days of VEISHEA there was a moving-up ceremony, which was
part of the opening ceremonies. The ceremony was a mock
graduation during which each class graduated to the next grade.
The most spectacular part of this opening ceremony was the
burning of the freshmen beanies, as they became sophomores. The
objective of the event was to develop unity and class
tradition. Due to the increase in the number of events and
activities, particularly those taking place during opening
ceremonies, the event ended in 1935.
In 1935, a water carnival was incorporated
into the events. This same year the swans Lancelot and Elaine
were purchased for Lake LaVerne. Many alumni remember the canoe
races as a big VEISHEA event. These races began as part of the
1935 water carnival.
Another popular event during VEISHEA was
the VEISHEA Queen of Queens pageant. Beginning in 1938, the
Queen was chosen from the queens of other campus events such as
Homecoming and Greek Week. Famous judges from all over the
nation, including Cary Grant, Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby selected
the VEISHEA Queen of Queens. The last VEISHEA Queen of Queens
was crowned in 1970.
Over the years, VEISHEA has attracted
people from all over the Midwest to Ames for the weekend. Early
on, the railroad company even had to run extra lines just to
handle the number of weekend visitors. However, VEISHEA did not
always prosper. VEISHEA faced opposition from the student body
in 1941. Students voted to cancel VEISHEA because they were not
interested in participating. VEISHEA did go on in 1941 because
later in the year students decided to reinstate the celebration.
During World War II, VEISHEA was scaled
down due to lack of building materials and funds. In 1943-1945,
the parade was cancelled and replaced with military reviews.
The funds saved from not building the floats for the parade were
used as part of a campaign VEISHEA held to help the war effort
entitled “Buy a Jeep to Drive Against the Nazi’s”. VEISHEA
raised enough money to buy five jeeps for the U.S. Army. The
shows for STARS OVER VEISHEA during VEISHEA 1943, 1944, and 1945
were war shows.
VEISHEA regained its strength and
prominence as an organized celebration during the 1950s
and1960s. During these years, the central committee worked to
organize events that would appeal to a variety of people. A
large effort was made to bring entertainment events to Ames that
would be popular with both students and alumni. Duke Ellington,
Diana Ross and the Supremes and Bob Hope were some of the
entertainers who came to campus during those years. In 1953,
Ray Anthony and his Band played for the VEISHEA Dance that was
broadcast nation wide on CBS radio.
During the Vietnam War, the spirit of
VEISHEA again became somber and several adjustments to the
celebration were made to meet the needs of the students. In
1970, the VEISHEA Central Committee asked protest leaders to
assist in planning the activities. A “March of Concern” was
added to the parade, no one was allowed to carry a weapon (not
even the military), and a public area for discussing current
events was open day and night during VEISHEA. Again, VEISHEA
was under attack; not everyone enjoyed the changes, some of the
people disgruntled by the overly political tone the celebration
had taken called for the end of VEISHEA. The feelings did not
last, by 1973 the atmosphere of merriment had returned to the
event.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the popularity of
VEISHEA continued to grow, but the original purposes of VEISHEA
began to be overshadowed by the unofficial parties that
dominated the weekend. Students from all over flocked to Ames
during the weekend in an effort to participate in what was known
as the largest party in the Midwest. The traditional activities
of the weekend, such as the parade, open houses, and concert,
continued as usual, but they were no longer the focus of the
celebration. The VEISHEA Central Committee did not take action
to revitalize the original intent of VEISHEA because the people
were still coming to Ames. In fact, the concert was ended in
1980 because there was no longer a need to provide entertainment
for all these people because they were able to find their own
forms of entertainment. VEISHEA carried on as usual, but each
year it became less and less the celebration of excellence it
was originally created to be and more and more a huge party.
Gradually what began as minor disturbances
and altercations between VEISHEA celebrators and police
escalated into a full riot in 1988. Thousands of students
gathered in the south block of Welch Avenue chanting and
screaming. A bonfire was started in the middle of the street
that created a hole several feet deep in the asphalt. Police
were unable to control the crowd and eventually called in
basketball coach Johnny Orr and football coach Jim Walden in an
effort of calm the crowd and convince them to disperse. The
tactic worked and eventually the crowd dissipated, however they
left behind the charred remnants of burnt furniture, beer cans,
and clothing. Two students were arrested for inciting a riot
but no other major actions were taken. VEISHEA was examined to
see whether or not it was still a worthwhile celebration and
after much discussion, it was decided that VEISHEA could stay.
Unfortunately, no significant changes were
made to return the purpose of VEISHEA to its original goals and
the party atmosphere continued for the next decade with more
disturbances occurring and the parties becoming larger and
larger. Community members, both residents and business owners,
were upset with the celebration because they no longer felt
their properties were safe. Alumni still came for the
celebration, but anyone with a family left after the parade on
Saturday because they did not want to be a part of the unsafe
environment. In 1993, after another riot during VEISHEA 1992, a
new event entitled Taste of VEISHEA was created as a crowd
control measure. Welch Avenue was blocked off as a pedestrian
mall with food vendors, tournaments, games, and entertainment
going on all day and night. Students saw the event as a new
activity for them, but the underlying purpose was to prevent
large crowds from gathering on Welch Avenue. To a certain
extent this solved the problems of the Welch riots, however,
smaller riots still took place off campus in West Ames or in
other parts of Campus Town. Also in 1993, Farm Aid VI, a
country music concert to benefit farmers, came to Cyclone
Stadium in Ames during VEISHEA weekend. Although this was not
an event planned by the VEISHEA committee, it did draw many
Iowans to Ames for the weekend.
The true turning point for VEISHEA came in
1997 after what was deemed a successful celebration by president
Martin Jischke, was marred by tragedy. Harold “Uri” Sellers was
fatally wounded on the lawn of Adelante Fraternity early Sunday
morning. The two men convicted of the crime as well as the
victim were not connected to Iowa State University or the City
of Ames in any way except for their participation in the VEISHEA
weekend activities. VEISHEA was immediately examined by a task
force put together by the president. Although Iowa State
students did not cause the problems of the weekend, the incident
highlighted the fact that what was once a safe celebration for
all had turned into a dangerous environment. Dr. Jischke and
the task force decided that the celebration would go alcohol
free or end. In what many students considered an ultimatum, Dr.
Jischke gave the choice to students as to whether or not they
wanted to save their celebration. Although disgruntled, the
governing student bodies all pledged to support an alcohol free
VEISHEA and the celebration went on. The theme for VEISHEA 1998
was aptly titled “A Time for Change”. The weekend definitely
changed. The focus of the celebration turned from the parties
to the events planned by the VEISHEA committees. A large-scale
concert in Hilton Coliseum featuring the band Tonic was added to
the schedule of events. Additionally, a wider variety of
entertainment was provided on the Taste stage at Taste of
VEISHEA on Welch Avenue. Despite the additional activities,
many students were unhappy with the change, mostly because they
only associated VEISHEA with drinking. Students left campus for
the weekend—either to protest dry VEISHEA or so they could
consume alcohol. However VEISHEA went on. VEISHEA 1998 was
declared a success by the administration and community with the
number of arrests dropping significantly. VEISHEA continued as
an alcohol free celebration for the next few years, but student
support of the event was dropping quickly. Each fall when
students were asked to vote to support a dry VEISHEA, more and
more voices of opposition spoke up. In the end, however,
students still voted to keep VEISHEA.
VEISHEA remains an alcohol-free
celebration, however beginning in 2001, there is no pledge
attached to this policy. VEISHEA 2001 and 2002 were not without
opposition. Much like the situation in 1941, students are upset
with the quality of celebration. There was an unsuccessful
petition created by a group of students with the goal of
creating a student referendum to vote to end the funding of
VEISHEA by the Government of the Student body. In 2004, VEISHEA
experienced another riot, which not only caused a great amount
damage to property, but also to the reputation of VEISHEA and
Iowa State University. University President, Gregory L.
Geoffroy, decided to suspend the celebration for 2005. VEISHEA
resumed in 2006.
VEISHEA has had a long and prosperous
history, but not without its problems. It appears as though the
popularity of the celebration is cyclical. With its rich
tradition and strong roots, this celebration will continue to
survive. |
