ISU’s ‘incredibly long week’ over

Even though Iowa State University administrators canceled much of last week's annual VEISHEA celebration following a Tuesday night riot involving thousands, local authorities kept plenty busy with 'unofficial VEISHEA” activities.

Over the entire week, Ames Police officers arrested 82 people on suspicion of 115 charges, ticketed 56 people on suspicion of 59 charges and responded to more than 760 calls for service.

'Obviously, those are some high numbers,” according to an Ames police news release.

Some of those arrests were linked to the Tuesday night riot that erupted near the ISU campus, seriously injuring one student, causing thousands of dollars in damage and prompting ISU President Steven Leath to cancel the rest of the week's festivities.

Leath called the incident 'disappointing” and unacceptable, and he said it's not the first time misbehavior has prompted administrators to cancel and attempt to retool the historic event, which started in 1922 as a way of showcasing the ISU community.

VEISHEA's legacy of 'ugly” events includes riots in 1988, 1992, 1999 and 2004, a fatal stabbing in 1997 and a cancellation in 2005. During a news conference last week, Leath said the university 'cannot have any more property destroyed or incidents of this nature.”

He's in the process of convening a task force to discuss whether VEISHEA should continue in subsequent years and, if so, in what form. Leath said he plans to make a decision on VEISHEA's future by the end of the academic year.

Even though this year's official VEISHEA activities were cut short, Ames and ISU police reported staying much busier than normal last week.

Some students organized alternate, non-alcoholic events 'to show the community that Iowa State is a good place to be” and to show respect for VEISHEA and those who planned it. One event, called '4 the love of ISU,” convened students over music and outdoor games and collected donations to help cover riot damages.

Nights stayed busy, and University administrators and city officials even pitched in to help monitor campus-area neighborhoods in the days following the riot.

'What an incredibly long week,” according to an Ames police news release. 'We would like to thank a lot of people for helping us get through this week … We saw people from the city manager's office, public works, city council and many others.”

Members of the public also helped authorities by sending a barrage of information about who might have been involved with the riot and the toppling of a light pole that sent one ISU student to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The student's condition is not known, but Leath has said doctors hope he'll make a full recovery.

Those arrested in connection with the incident include ISU students Andrew Adams, 20, and Alexander Abbinante, 19, both on suspicion of trespass, Mark Ribbeck, 20, on suspicion of harassment of a public official, and David Irving, 20, on suspicion of fifth-degree theft, disorderly conduct and second-degree criminal mischief - a Class D felony.

Irving had been on the ISU football squad since 2011, starting in eight games last season as an interior defensive lineman. Cyclone coach Paul Rhoads announced over the weekend that Irving had been dismissed from the team for his involvement in the campus riot.

Rhoads made the announcement after the Saturday intrasquad game, saying that Irving has 'exhausted” his privilege to represent the football program.

As to the financial impact of last week's riot and subsequent cancellation, ISU spokesman John McCarroll said officials don't have a number yet. Warren Madden, the university's senior vice president for business and finance, has said it will take several weeks to determine the impact on student organizations involved with VEISHEA.