Katherine Klingseis

Des Moines Register

Ames, Ia. -- Veishea, Iowa State University's long-time annual spring celebration, no longer will be held, ISU President Steven Leath announced at news conference this morning.

Leath said the celebration's name has been retired.

Leath's decision comes after a riot broke out during April's celebration. He said that student safety is his top concern. He said the university can't continue hosting the event, see it have problems, create a task force and then problems continue to occur. "That's the definition of insanity," he said.

Leath said he was surprised by this year's task force's unanimous decision to recommend that Veishea has to end.

Still, he said, "I don't want the end of Veishea to diminish all of the extraordinary things we do here every day."

Leath said he plans to work with ISU officials to work on student code of conduct. Also he said the university will work with city officials to address other issues.

Leath shared his decision in front of about 60 people in the Memorial Union on the ISU campus this morning.

Veishea has been marred multiple times by riots since it first began in 1922. Most recently, a disturbance overnight April 8 to 9 left property damaged in Campustown, one man injured after a pole fell on him and 12 students charged in connection to the riot.

Leath canceled the week's remaining Veishea events in response to the riot. He also formed a 19-voting-member task force to draft recommendations on the future of the annual event.

The panel held public forums and open meetings through the end of June. The task force then submitted a 45-page final report, which included 12 recommendations, to Leath on July 11.

Some of the task force's recommendations included: discontinue Veishea in its current form, stop using the name "Veishea," continue to hold an "overarching, university-wide event or series of events," review the student code of conduct and create a group to better deal with university disturbance prevention and management.