EDITORIAL: New focus on family sounds like 'VIP only'
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Veishea is a little over a month away, and you know what that means - time to rock out to free live music on Central Campus with more than 10,000 people from across the Midwest.
What's that? The concerts were moved to the marching band field south of Design? OK, no problem, we can live with that.
Oh? You have to purchase a $5 wristband to get access to the concerts? Sure, well, $5 is chump change compared to other expenses of the weekend. We can swing that.
Come again? Only 7,000 wristbands are being offered? Wow. Given the change in venue, that's understandable, but that's at least 3,000 people left out in the cold.
Excuse me? The wristband is only being sold to ISU students, faculty, staff and alumni? Oh my. That's, um, quite a change, to say the least.
Why are these changes taking place? According to Veishea entertainment co-chairman Dan Determan, three reasons:
One, because the Veishea committee this year is putting less emphasis on the concerts and more emphasis on the alternative entertainment events, such as comedians and the parade.
Two, because a primary concern of the committee is to provide a safe, secure location for students.
And three, because the committee wanted Veishea to focus exclusively on the Cyclone family.
ISU Police collaborated with the Veishea committee this year to determine the safest location. The marching band field was chosen because of the natural barriers formed by Howe Hall and the Design Building, leaving only two planes to be gated off and manned by security. Seven thousand was also determined to be the cutoff for maximum safety.
It may be premature to place last year's Veishea concert as a benchmark (yes, 10,000 Mike Jones fans can be wrong), but the demand is clearly there for a concert crowd of more than 7,000.
Determan said the problem with Central Campus is that students can enter from all directions. If the marching band field can't hold enough people, and Central Campus has security holes, it sounds like another solution could have been reached.
The clincher is the exclusion of the non-ISU community from the concerts. On the day before the Battle of the Bands, ISU students can purchase one wristband for a friend, if they are not already sold out. Depending on the demand from the ISU community, other people might not even get a chance to attend at all.
Whether the Veishea committee likes it or not, part of the Veishea tradition is the influx of visitors from around Iowa and surrounding states. To exclude other communities is autocratic and sectarian, and goes against the very spirit of Veishea itself.
At least we can take refuge in the concert lineup, with all-stars such as Blessid Union of Souls and Eve 6.
It will be like high school prom all over again.
What's that? The concerts were moved to the marching band field south of Design? OK, no problem, we can live with that.
Oh? You have to purchase a $5 wristband to get access to the concerts? Sure, well, $5 is chump change compared to other expenses of the weekend. We can swing that.
Come again? Only 7,000 wristbands are being offered? Wow. Given the change in venue, that's understandable, but that's at least 3,000 people left out in the cold.
Excuse me? The wristband is only being sold to ISU students, faculty, staff and alumni? Oh my. That's, um, quite a change, to say the least.
Why are these changes taking place? According to Veishea entertainment co-chairman Dan Determan, three reasons:
One, because the Veishea committee this year is putting less emphasis on the concerts and more emphasis on the alternative entertainment events, such as comedians and the parade.
Two, because a primary concern of the committee is to provide a safe, secure location for students.
And three, because the committee wanted Veishea to focus exclusively on the Cyclone family.
ISU Police collaborated with the Veishea committee this year to determine the safest location. The marching band field was chosen because of the natural barriers formed by Howe Hall and the Design Building, leaving only two planes to be gated off and manned by security. Seven thousand was also determined to be the cutoff for maximum safety.
It may be premature to place last year's Veishea concert as a benchmark (yes, 10,000 Mike Jones fans can be wrong), but the demand is clearly there for a concert crowd of more than 7,000.
Determan said the problem with Central Campus is that students can enter from all directions. If the marching band field can't hold enough people, and Central Campus has security holes, it sounds like another solution could have been reached.
The clincher is the exclusion of the non-ISU community from the concerts. On the day before the Battle of the Bands, ISU students can purchase one wristband for a friend, if they are not already sold out. Depending on the demand from the ISU community, other people might not even get a chance to attend at all.
Whether the Veishea committee likes it or not, part of the Veishea tradition is the influx of visitors from around Iowa and surrounding states. To exclude other communities is autocratic and sectarian, and goes against the very spirit of Veishea itself.
At least we can take refuge in the concert lineup, with all-stars such as Blessid Union of Souls and Eve 6.
It will be like high school prom all over again.
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