At your next student event, drinks might be courtesy of a surprising source: the Student Union. Recently, the Union announced its decision to set up a fund specifically designated for funding alcohol at student events.

The fund, which represents $2,000 of the Unions total budget, was established to address a rising social life issues on campus, according to Union president Mark Schlangel 05.

The fund was not created for the purpose of funding purely alcoholic-focused events;

rather, the concept behind this fund is to present the opportunity for clubs to add appeal or a dimension of sophistication to their event, he said.

Schlangel said he hopes that the presence of alcohol would create a different atmosphere that will act as a new incentive to draw students out from their dorms to attend club events.

He stated that the funds allocation, which is under the control of the Union Executive Office, will only be to clubs that demonstrate sufficient reasons for the inclusion of alcohol.

Club leaders whose events receive money from the fund will also be required to take preventive measures to avoid the problem of underage drinking, he told The Hoot.

Addressing the concern that only a small number of students will benefit from the fund, since alcohol is prohibited for those under the age of 21 and a majority of underclassman are under 21, Schlangel said that the money only funds the addition of alcohol to an event, [so] the event itself remains under-21 friendly.

Union representatives supported the plan, with some reservations. It sounds like a good concept, Senator for the Class of 2008 Sam Vaghar 08 said.

Nonetheless, Vaghar noted that its a lot of money that might be better spent in other places, as well as the fund's benefiting only a portion of the student body.

Still, he said, alcohol is something many students enjoy, and therefore we [Union Senate] should let it slide for the sake of others.

Class of 2005 Senator Alex Amann 05 agreed saying that as long as it is not used for making alcohol events, but for supplementing events, the alcohol fund is a great idea.
Furthermore, he added, alcohol can be beneficial as it can be used to give an event simply another gimmick for people to enjoy.

This is not the first time in Brandeis history that Union funds have been used for this purpose. It was made aware to us that a similar Student Union fund existed years ago, Schlangel said. We feel that now is a good time to resurrect it.