Iowa State VEISHEA task force asks for extension on final report, recommendations

A task force charged with studying the historic but troubled annual VEISHEA celebration at Iowa State University has asked for an extension on its final report, which was due to President Steven Leath on Monday.

The 20-member task force was supposed to deliver its findings and recommendations to Leath by the end of June, but the group now is asking to have until July 11 to file its report, said ISU spokeswoman Angie Hunt.

She said Tom Hill, vice president of ISU student affairs and chairman of the task force, expects Leath will allow the extension.

Leath convened the task force in April after a late-night riot erupted during this year's event, causing thousands of dollars in damage and sending one student to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The student survived, but Leath canceled the rest of the week's VEISHEA activities and said the unlawful behavior associated with the event must stop.

He hinted that this year's melee involving thousands might have been the final straw, and the task force during one of its final public discussions said they believe - at the very least - that administrators should drop the event's name.

VEISHEA, which started in 1922 as a way to showcase the community, was named after the first letters of each of ISU's original colleges - veterinary medicine, engineering, industrial science, home economics and agriculture. Despite its family-friendly roots, VEISHEA has developed 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 a police, overturning cars, toppling light poles and causing thousands of dollars in damage. One student was hit by a falling light pole, landing him in the hospital with critical injuries.

Authorities filed charges against 12 students in connection with the disturbance. Some of those cases have been finalized and include sanctions that involve suspension, written apology letters, community service and financial restitution, according to the task force. Other cases still are pending.

The task force's specific charges included assessing the role, relevance, and appropriateness of VEISHEA in the future, understanding what caused this year's disturbance, identifying how it was different from past problems, and recommending how to move forward - if at all - with future VEISHEA celebrations.

The task force held its last official meeting Thursday, and members deliberated in closed session about final recommendations.

A timeline for when Leath might make his final decision on how to proceed is unknown, said Annette Hacker, director of ISU News Service.