A bill that’s cleared an Iowa House subcommittee would have the board that governs the state universities study whether a springtime event at Iowa State University should be revived.
The annual VEISHEA celebrations began in April of 1922 and featured parades and events in each of ISU’s colleges. Off-campus riots between 1988 and 2014 prompted Iowa State officials to permanently cancel VEISHEA. Representative Ross Wilburn, a Democrat from Ames who does not support the bill, said one year, the rioting started because bars in Ames ran out of beer.
“Under the influence of alcohol, riots have ranged from 1000 up to 5000 and 8000 people,” Wilburn said.
During VEISHEA in 1997, a man who was not a student was stabbed to death during an off-campus fight and in 2012 another out-of-town visitor died at an off-campus party. In 2014, rioters near the ISU campus flipped over two cars, damaged businesses and climbed up street signs and light poles. A man hit in the head by a falling pole was flown to a Des Moines hospital for treatment.
Republican Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis, chair of the House Higher Education Committee, is sponsoring the bill that calls for a study of whether it would be “practical and beneficial” to restart VEISHEA celebrations, but Collins did not attend the subcommittee hearing. Collins is an Iowa State graduate.
VEISHEA had been recognized as the country’s largest student-led celebration. Students designed elaborate floats with hydraulic systems and moving parts for the annual parade through campus. President Truman was involved in a VEISHEA kick-off event in 1950 and a dance during the 1953 VEISHEA celebration was broadcast on national television.