I'm considering making t-shirts that say "I survived the riots of VEISHEA 2004!"

Went to Ames on Saturday night with Tonia, Corey, Erin, and Matt to visit our friends Ryan and Samantha. We had a good time hanging out at Sam's apartment one block from Campustown, then meandered down to Welch about 9:30 to see the festivities. Stopped at Jimmy John's to see Brother at work and ran into a few other people I knew, then over to see Ryan's place at Eaton Hall where he is the assistant hall coordinator.

We returned to Sam's and were there at 12:30 when people started running down Knapp Street followed by police in riot gear. We could smell the tear gas used just a block away where the police had broken up several house parties that had merged into one. The mob returned to Campustown on the closed section of Welch chanting "Riot, riot" and "No dry Veishea" and tearing down lamp posts and street signs, breaking store windows, and setting dumpsters on fire.

Thirty-two people were arrested and damage estimates to $40,000. The crowds didn't fully disperse until 5:30 Sunday morning. Brother is alright; he had a front row seat to the action from Jimmy John's.

Pictures are from the Iowa State Daily, which has good coverage of the events if you're interesting in more information.