Early morning flapjacks

By Ross Boettcher
Daily Staff Writer

"Aunt Jemima" and "Mrs. Butterworth" would've been proud.

At 12:45 a.m. Saturday, a line of people cascaded across Central Campus with one thing on their minds — pancakes.

As individuals from every corner of the Iowa State University community filed in to get their crack at the early morning pancake feed, a group of students in the middle of the single-file extension battled the snow, sleet and bone-chilling cold with nothing but smiles and laughs.

Corey Becker, junior in political science and Heidi Horstman, sophomore in biology, migrated to the event after seeing John Oliver's performance at Stephens Auditorium.

Horstman, clad in winter gear, said there was nothing that was going to stop her from taking part in the ISU tradition.

"You kinda have to do it," Horstman said of the Veishea tradition. "Can't pass up all-you-can-eat pancakes for just a dollar."

Nancy Levandowski, director of campus dining services, said she was impressed with students' willingness to battle the elements while waiting in line for their pancakes.

"The weather has certainly made it interesting, but it's great to see the perseverance by the students waiting in the snow having a good time," she said. "I have worked at a lot of universities and none have had the kind of community spirit that there is here at ISU."

Chris Cakes, a pancake-catering company from Pocahontas, IA, had already successfully flipped their way into the stomachs of 300 by 12:45 a.m. Levandowski said the company has been serving Veishea for "many, many years."

"You can tell their professionalism just by watching them," Levandowski said as members of the Chris Cakes staff tossed flapjacks into the air for students waiting in line to catch on their plates. "They [Chris Cakes] travel all over Iowa and the Midwest to do these kind of events."