Friday, June 13, 2014

VEISHA: A Celebration Of Stupidity

As my readers know I'm a huge fan of anything Iowa. It's my home state and I stayed in it until we moved to Ohio in 1989. I also happen to be a supporter of all of Iowa's athletic teams. It doesn't matter if it's the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Iowa State Cyclones or my alma mater, Coe College. I love 'em all and root heartily for any successes.
Every once in awhile, though, I have to guffaw at the stupidity of the administrators of these learned institutions. Thanks to my western Iowa correspondent, The Council Bluffs Cowboy, I bring you one of these insane situations.
Every year since Eve took out a bite of the apple Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa has a Spring festival called VEISHA. It's an acronym for six departments: veterinary medicine, engineering, industrial science, home economics and agriculture. I'm not sure how long the event lasts. It could be three days or it might be a year. What it is, though, is a monstrous excuse for unlimited drinking of alcoholic beverages. As sure as the sun comes up you'll read in the papers about some kid maiming his body by jumping off a fraternity house roof, a coed or two being raped and once in awhile someone getting killed. I grew up fifteen miles from Ames and know for a fact that most of the rowdies are not students. They're out of town goobers who stroll into the city limits to do unruly things they can't get away in their own communities.
Well, after this years debacle, the administration had had enough and they put their foot down on further VEISHA activities. In order to insure that no down the road problems take place the school has decided that from here on in the name of the celebration, VEISHA, will be changed. That's it. I'm anxiously waiting to find out the name of the new festival. Maybe it'll be something like, "No More Drinking Day'. It doesn't take much to solve a problem, does it?

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