Students looking to host non-alcoholic alternatives to fraternity house basements are merely a short application away from receiving funding for social events, thanks to Tufts University Health Services.
Director of Drug and Alcohol Education Margot Abels worked with students this summer to create a program that will give money to student groups that hold alcohol-free social events.
"Basically it's free money floating around given out to student groups to use," Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasurer Jeff Katzin said. "It's like [Abels] is co-sponsoring the event."
"Sponsoring non-alcoholic events provides a lot of social opportunities where people don't have to drink," Abels said.
She argues that a lack of alcohol-free social events has contributed to increasing problems with student drinking on campus. According to Abels, drinking unsafe levels of alcohol is not just a result of parties serving alcoholic drinks, but is also due to the unavailability of other events on campus.
"There weren't any frat parties during [freshman orientation week], yet we still had plenty of [Tufts Emergency Medical Service (TEMS)] calls," Abels said.
The funding will come in the form of "mini-grants" of up to $300. According to Katzin, the Alcohol and Drug Program at Health Services will offer around 10 to 12 mini-grants throughout the year.
"If we get a lot of applications, we'll see about expanding [the program]," Abels said.
Abel thought of the "mini-grants" idea after facing some disappointment last year. The Alcohol and Drug Program planned to hold a non-alcoholic version of the popular drinking game Beirut tournament last semester, but the event never took place.
"Better I fund people rather than having people excited over something that doesn't happen," Abels said. "I don't think it makes sense for me to design events. It's not the best use of my time."
Instead, she will decide which student groups deserve grants for their social gatherings.
"Almost every student group on campus has alcohol-free events," Katzin said.
A lingering question, however, is whether students will go to more alcohol-free events if more of them are offered.
"To be honest, I probably wouldn't go," sophomore Sam Cohen said. "But alcohol isn't the reason I go out."
The application for the "mini-grants" is one page long. It asks student groups to give goals for their event, the event's date and time, the expected amount and the diversity of attendees.
The money for the grants will come from the Health Services budget. "My office wants to base our money on the reality of the people's needs," Abels said.
In addition to the "mini-grants", the Drug and Alcohol Program is also administering a study on alcohol and drug use at college.
The study asks freshmen about their experiences with drinking during their first few weeks at the University. The study also includes follow-up questions regarding alcohol and drug use by upperclassmen who participated in an earlier study.
