creator:

Iowa State University.  Task Force on Assuring Successful VEISHEA and Other Student/Community Celebrations

title:

Records

dates:

1988-2005

extent:

0.63 linear ft.  (1 document box and 1 half-document box)

collection number:

RS 8/6/179

repository:

University Archives, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

access:

Open for research

publication rights:

Consult Head, Special Collections Department

preferred citation:

Iowa State University, Task Force on Assuring Successful VEISHEA and Other Student/Community Celebrations Records, RS 8/6/179, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

Historical note

VEISHEA is a celebration coordinated by Iowa State University students and is held annually during the end of spring semester. The celebration first took place in 1922 in an effort to combine the various spring festivals put on by the colleges of Iowa State. Appropriately, the word VEISHEA is an acronym of the five original colleges at Iowa State – Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Industrial Science, Home Economics, and Agriculture. The festival originally focused on entertaining, educating, and promoting leadership and created lasting traditions such as cherry pies, the parade, concerts, and open houses sponsored by academic departments and student organizations.

Over time, the original intent of VEISHEA became overshadowed by unofficial parties held off-campus. Confrontations between police and partygoers escalated into riots in 1988 and again in 1992. The stabbing death of Harold "Uri" Sellers on the lawn of Adelante Fraternity in 1997 forced the administration and student leaders to address problems associated with VEISHEA. It was decided that VEISHEA would continue as an alcohol-free celebration. For several years VEISHEA was without incident, but student interest and support was rapidly fading. During the 2004 celebration another riot occurred in the Campustown area of Ames, seriously putting the future of the VEISHEA in jeopardy.

In the aftermath of the 2004 riots, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy suspended VEISHEA for 2005 and announced the formation of a task force to study the underlying causes of the disturbance and make recommendations to minimize the possibility of a similar event in the future. Membership of the Task Force on Assuring Successful VEISHEA and Other Student/Community Celebrations was decided by ISU President Geoffroy, Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco, and Government of the Student Body President Sophia Magill. Task force members included students, Ames community leaders, and ISU faculty and staff and was chaired by Catherine Woteki, Dean of the College of Agriculture.

The task force members were divided into three working groups. Working group one was charged with studying the events leading up to the riot, providing a chronology of the event, and reviewing previous VEISHEAs. Working group two was responsible for analyzing the causes of the riot, while working group three was assigned to make recommendations to prevent future disturbances. The committee met throughout the year and presented its final report on November 30, 2004.

In the end, most of the task force members endorsed the report. Three of the student members refused to sign off on the final report claiming it did not accurately portray the student viewpoint and that consensus was not reached on several important topics. After reviewing this report and taking other information into consideration, President Geoffroy reinstated VEISHEA for 2006.
 

Collection description

This collection (1988-2005) contains meeting materials and reports produced by the Iowa State University Task Force on Assuring Successful VEISHEA and Other Student/Community Celebrations. The collection includes meeting agendas, background materials, minutes, and reports. The "VEISHEA Riots 2004: Video Clips and Still Images" DVD, which was part of the Work Group #1 report, has been cataloged and is available in the University Archives. A copy of the task force's final report has also been cataloged (Archives call no. LD2547.7 V44 I688x 2004).

For additional information on the aftermath of the 2004 VEISHEA riot, see the final report of the Commission on Improving Relations Among ISU Students, the University, the City of Ames and the Ames Community (Archives call no. LC238.3 A44 C66x 2004). Further information on the history of VEISHEA can be found in the University Archives (records series no. RS 22/12).
 

Organization

The collection is arranged with news clippings first and then chronologically according to meeting dates.