There is a long tradition in Ames of a springtime celebration called "VIESHEA"
"What does "VEISHEA" stand for? VEISHEA was named in 1922 by Professor Frank D. Paine, Department of General Engineering. He combined the first letters of the colleges at that time, and the name has stuck ever since. The word VEISHEA (pronounced "VEE-sha") stands for:
Veterinary Medicine
Engineering
Industrial Science
Home Economics
Agriculture" (from the VEISHEA WEBSITE)
It is notorious for two things: end of school release of tension before finals and rioting...literally.
Two years ago this celebration was a real black eye on the University. They have taken significant steps to try to prevent the same mistakes from taking place. However, I'm really concerned because I don't hear students wanting to put the blame on students. It's the Police's fault for breaking up a huge party...it's the president's fault for not having enough activities...it's the bars fault for closing down all at once... Unless if students can say those statements as well as saying that it's rioters fault for toppling street lights, parking meters, and wreaking havoc, the lesson is unlearned.
I just hope that, despite the unlearned lesson, nothing bad happens. Please pray for us here at Iowa State.
3 comments:
Hello Fr. Dennis,
I only now came across your blog by doing a google blog search using keyword "VEISHEA".
As a mother of an out of state student, I am praying. Thank you for your request.
I thought it a sad, but understandable, situation when VEISHEA had been cancelled in the past. I am glad that the students have an opportunity to experience it again. I share your hope that it goes well.
I agree with you that Personal Accountability 101, although not an official class, is a lesson that should be learned before heading out in the 'big wide world'. For if one has to learn it in the 'big wide world' the lesson presentation is a much harsher course of study, and the homework really sucks! It can last for years, lol.
God bless you in your work with the students Father. We need you to be True.
Yes..FD...thanks for your prayers. I certainly needed them last night! Whoa...
But I have to expound on the notion of passing the blame around for what happened 2 years ago, and I hope I don't sound just like the "student not wanting to place the blame on students."
As you are well aware, it is not just ISU students who participate in the VEISHEA revalry. There are a lot of other young adults in the area who come and join in, and it is known to some at "those other schools" in Iowa that VEISHEA in Ames is the place to come and party (source: old HS buddies). It is quite probable that our non-ISU visitors had a lot to do with instigating and fueling the disturbance 2 years ago; they do not have a vested interest in the ISU/Ames communities. (Note the plural...we are not yet "one community") Remember the homocide in 1997? - it was a non-student victim of a non-student.
And yes, the police had a LOT to do with starting and continuing that riot. They are there to maintain civil order and protect the public safety. Basically, they failed on both accounts. Had they responded to the Hunt Street party without the riot gear (which screams to a bunch of inexperienced inebriates "We expect you to be violent; we didn't just get all dressed-up for nothin"), and had they dispersed the party AWAY from Welch Av and the center of action, I really doubt anything major would have happened. Watching the progression of things from my dorm window, it was pretty obvious that the law enforcement was inept at handling the situation and only serving to worsen it.
I don't think that students don't hold "the rioters" accountable for the destruction of property and disturbance of the peace - they do. But I think students were quick to point out that while the riot was a meaningless clash of riotous asshats and incompetent police, there were a lot of silent underlying issues between the various communities in Ames building the tension and ripening the conditions for the riot. Those issues, however poorly or whiningly expressed, are what we need to work on so that all can say "the lesson is learned."
as a Ca I hear alot of things about the riots and none of them involve the police or anything like that... in fact all of the comments tend to end with some permutation of "man I want to be a part of a riot, its so cool" and this sentiment comes from not only the drunk students but also from the very "elite" honors students whose hobbies include puzzling and mah jong on a weekend night.
Frankly I think its a matter of Iowan's being isolated too much from the rest of the US. and from large city dynamics... "riots" like that drunken affair involved alot of people who came to "be apart of it" because it was something they've never seen... and this was something en masse. (People would get tear gassed, come back, shower, rest and then head back out).
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