ISU Suspends VEISHEA for the Remainder of 2014; Future of Event in Jeopardy

Iowa State University has suspended the remainder of the 2014 VEISHEA celebration after two mobs of students toppled a utility pole in Ames’ Campus Town overnight Tuesday, injuring a student who remains in intensive care at an area hospital after he was airlifted from the scene.

Given the sometimes violent history of VEISHEA, an annual celebration of ISU’s colleges– veterinary medicine, engineering, industrial science, home economics and agriculture – its future moving forward is in doubt, ISU President Steve Leath said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“Frankly, I'm embarrassed for our campus and our university," Leath said. "This type of conduct is not going to be tolerated."

Leath said a decision will be made by the end of the school year on whether to continue the annual spring celebration,

Police aren’t sure what prompted the violence, which reportedly involved thousands of people congregated near the intersection of Welch Avenue and Chamberlain Street around 11:30 p.m., the Des Moines Register reports. Cars were flipped, beer cans and rocks were lobbed at police and emergency responders had to force their way through the crowd to get to the injured student.

So far, two people have been arrested and police expect to make more. They’re seeking anyone with photos and videos of what happened to help identify those involved.

Ames Police Commander Geoff Huff struggled to understand what set the group on a destructive tear.

"When you hear riot, usually it's about an issue. This isn't something like that," Huff said. "There's usually a flashpoint but it's difficult to put a finger on what that was…There was no rhyme or reason for it."

In 2004, a VEISHEA riot caused more than $100,000 damage and police had to use tear gas and batons to break up the event. VEISHEA was cancelled the following year, but has been violence-free since it resumed in 2006.

Violence at the celebration first erupted in May 1988 with a two-night rampage. Violent occurrences were repeated in 1994 and 1997, when Harold “Uri” Sellers of Monroe was stabbed to death during a fight on the lawn of a fraternity house south of the ISU campus.