2014 VEISHEA Task Force Final Report July 11, 2014 1 Membership Chair: Tom Hill Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Executive Members: *Ann Campbell Mayor of Ames Hillary Kletscher 2014-15 Government of the Student Body President, junior in biological systems engineering Warren Madden Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Melissa Pierce General Manager of Campustown Property Management Jerry Stewart ISU Police Chief, Director of the Department of Public Safety Dwayne Vande Krol 1993 ISU alumnus, 2009-10 ISU Alumni Association board chair Pam White College of Human Sciences dean and University Professor of food science and human nutrition Members: Pamela Anthony Dean of Students *Ann Campbell Mayor of Ames (Withdrew April 22) Bob Currie Director of Facilities Services, Facilities Planning and Management (P&S employee representative) Chuck Cychosz Chief of the Ames Police Department Karl Kerns 2014 VEISHEA general co-chair, senior in animal science Hillary Kletscher 2014-15 Government of the Student Body President, junior in biological systems engineering Warren Madden Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Sophia Magill 2005 Iowa State alumna, Assistant Director of Federal Relations, 2004 GSB President (served on 2004 VEISHEA Task Force executive committee) Nick Morton 2014 VEISHEA general co-chair, senior in environmental science Micheal Owen University Professor of agronomy, VEISHEA Advisory Council member (Faculty Senate representative) Eric Peterson 2007 Iowa State alumnus, 2006 VEISHEA general co-chair (the year VEISHEA was reinstated) Melissa Pierce General Manager of Campustown Property Management **Barbara Pleasants Adjunct Assistant Professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology, co-president of the South Campus Neighborhood Association (Withdrew May 15) Richard Reynolds Director of the Memorial Union, VEISHEA adviser Jerry Stewart ISU Police Chief, Director of the Department of Public Safety Dwayne Vande Krol 1993 ISU alumnus, 2009-10 ISU Alumni Association board chair Pam White College of Human Sciences dean and University Professor of food science and human nutrition Jeff Woody Graduate student in biomedical sciences, co-president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee 2 Ex-Officio/Non-voting Members: Annette Hacker University Relations Paul Tanaka University Counsel Staff: Kathleen Harrison Communications and Program Coordinator, Office of the Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Makenzie Heddens Special Projects Assistant, Office of the President *Chris Nelson, City Councilman of the 4th Ward, served following Mayor Ann Campbell’s withdrawal. **Sarah Cady, Assistant Scientist, chemistry department (College Creek/Old Middle School Neighborhood Association representative), served following Barbara Pleasants’ withdrawal. 3 Table of Contents PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................................. 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 9 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 TASK FORCE ANNOUNCEMENT ............................................................................................................................ 10 2014 VEISHEA TASK FORCE CHARGE ................................................................................................................ 11 TASK FORCE TIMELINE AND PHASES OF TASK FORCE WORK ............................................................................. 12 Information Gathering (April 24-June 5) ........................................................................................................ 13 Discussion (May 1-June 26) ............................................................................................................................ 14 Deliberation/recommendations (June 5-June 26) ........................................................................................... 15 ASSESSMENT OF THE 2014 DISTURBANCE ................................................................................................. 16 OVERVIEW OF VEISHEA 2014 ............................................................................................................................ 16 Activities linked to VEISHEA but not part of the official program .................................................................. 16 “PREISHEA” and unplanned activities .......................................................................................................... 17 Timeline of disturbance .................................................................................................................................... 17 Social Media Impact ........................................................................................................................................ 18 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND ASSESSMENT FROM THE 2004 VEISHEA TASK FORCE REPORT .................................................................................................................................................................. 21 CHRONOLOGICAL COMPARISON (2014 VS. 2004) ................................................................................................. 21 STATUS OF 1992 AND 2004 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 23 ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE, RELEVANCE AND APPROPRIATENESS OF VEISHEA AND OTHER UNIVERSITY-WIDE CELEBRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE ........................................................................ 25 DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................... 25 Official VEISHEA activities and the nine traditional purposes ....................................................................... 25 VEISHEA in context of today’s student population ......................................................................................... 25 Addressing key questions using information related to VEISHEA from 2006-2014 ....................................... 26 General comments and questions from open forum and email feedback ........................................................ 36 RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 38 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 38 DISCONTINUE VEISHEA IN ITS CURRENT FORM ALONG WITH THE USE OF THE NAME VEISHEA ..................... 39 CREATE A NEW, OVERARCHING, UNIVERSITY-WIDE EVENT OR SERIES OF EVENTS ............................................. 40 REDUCE THE PROBABILITY OF DISTURBANCES AT ANY UNIVERSITY-WIDE EVENT AND ADDRESS STUDENT BEHAVIOR ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................................................... 44 4 Preface From its beginnings in 1922, VEISHEA has been touted as the largest student-run celebration in the United States. For many decades VEISHEA has provided leadership experiences for students organizing the event and celebrated the connections within Iowa State University, Ames, and the state of Iowa. VEISHEA was more than a spring celebration for the university. Over the years, VEISHEA brought middle school and high school students to campus and served as a very real recruitment activity for the university. It also brought alumni and their families to campus helping to cement the bonds between Iowa State and its graduates. VEISHEA helped strengthen the ties between the university and the community. As disturbances occurred over the past 30 years, the larger community demanded that university administration and VEISHEA leadership find a way to preserve the traditions valued by the community while controlling and containing unaffiliated events. It has been a difficult challenge for students actively engaged in organizing VEISHEA. Those who enjoy officially sanctioned activities are typically not the same students who engage in or encourage disruptive behavior and similarly, individuals who participate in disruptive behavior are not largely involved in official VEISHEA activities. Attempts to restore VEISHEA to an incident-free event have come with financial and human resource costs. The VEISHEA Committee, the VEISHEA Advisory Council, university student affairs personnel and others all operate under pressure to preserve the good parts of VEISHEA yet prevent further disturbances. There is also an unspoken charge to all of those involved in VEISHEA: Give us the beloved daytime activities, and deter excessive alcohol consumption and disruptive behavior. Each year the cost of trying to meet this challenge has increased in terms of operating expenses, staff overtime and other university and community resources. Simply proposing