Iowa State’s VEISHEA task force takes shape

Iowa State University President Steven Leath has named 20 community and school leaders to a task force commissioned to study VEISHEA and assess its future after the annual weeklong celebration turned ugly this month with a riot that seriously injured one.

Tom Hill, ISU senior vice president for student affairs, will lead the task force, which will study VEISHEA's past and present and assess its role and relevance going forward. The first meeting has yet to be scheduled, but Hill said he'll ask the group to provide recommendations on how to proceed with the historic event before the end of June, according to an ISU news release.

Leath said he'll review the group's recommendations with city and campus officials before making a final decision on whether to cancel the event or retool it.

VEISHEA, which got its name from the first letters of each of ISU's original colleges, started in 1922 as a way of showcasing the community. Despite its family-friendly mission, VEISHEA has a legacy of 'ugly” incidents including riots in 1988, 1992, 1999 and 2004, a fatal stabbing in 1997 and a cancellation in 2005.

On day two of this year's event, which began April 7, thousands of revelers took to the streets, shouting at police, overturning cars, toppling two light poles and causing thousands of dollars in damage. One student was hit by a falling pole and hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

He was in stable condition the following day, but an updated condition hasn't been made public. His name has not been released by authorities, and Ames police Sgt. Christine Crippen said he probably won't face criminal charges for his involvement in the riot.

'As far as we could tell, he was just in the crowd,” Crippen said. 'He wasn't actually doing anything other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Leath called the incident disappointing and unacceptable, and he canceled VEISHEA in the middle of the week, despite months of planning and preparation. He said the unlawful behavior must stop, and he hinted that this year's disturbance might have been the final straw.

'We cannot have any more property destroyed or incidents of this nature,” Leath told reporters the day after the April 8 riot.

In addition to Hill, the VEISHEA task force will include ISU leaders such as Pamela Anthony, dean of students; ISU student body president Hillary Kletscher; student chairmen of this year's VEISHEA; and professors, alumni and graduate students.

Community leaders also were appointed to the committee, including Ames Mayor Ann Campbell, Ames Police Chief Chuck Cychosz, and Melissa Pierce, general manager of Campustown Property Management. ISU University Counsel Paul Tanaka is on the task force as a non-voting member.

Meanwhile, Ames police continue to make arrests or issue citations in connection with the riot. So far, nine people face charges stemming from the chaos, including four charged with felonies.

Three of those people were arrested this week - Tucker Henderson, 22; Austin Burbridge, 19; and Marvin Thomas, 20. They face charges of second-degree criminal mischief, a Class D felony.

David Irving, 20, was arrested last week on suspicion of second-degree criminal mischief. Irving, who was on the ISU football squad, was kicked off the team last week for his suspected involvement in the riot.

Henderson and Irving are accused of toppling the same light pole - not the one that injured the student - and Burbridge and Thomas are accused of flipping cars, Crippen said.

Police have not arrested anyone in connection with the toppled light pole that hit the student, but Crippen said investigators have video footage that they might release to the public in hopes of identifying a suspect.

'Thanks to social media, there were lots of pictures and video that went out,” Crippen said.