Today is the last day for student organizations to apply for $200 to finance alcohol-free or alcohol-awareness events in honor of Alcohol Awareness Month, the assistant director of the Alcohol and Drug Education Center said.

Yvonne Giovanis, assistant director of prevention services, said this is the center’s first year doing this. Instead of the Alcohol and Drug Education Center hosting all the events every year, the center wants to see how student organizations will help raise alcohol awareness on campus, she said.

“Many organizations have alcohol-free events,” Giovanis said. “They just don’t call them that. So we are here to offer them funds for doing that.”

She said the center has received applications from eight organizations, and five other organizations have requested application forms.

She said the criteria for the funds will be based on the goals of the organizations, such as raising alcohol awareness and educating students about alcohol and alcohol related issues, or providing alcohol-free and alternative social opportunities for students.

She said the events the student organizations are hosting don’t have to be held on campus.

“It’s more like an experiment,” Giovanis said. “We want to see if there is an audience for the events students are hosting.”

Chris Sewalish, hall director of Milton Daniel Hall, said the dorm’s council is applying for the fund to host an event with Moncrief Hall involving food and games.

“We believe there are a lot of events and great programming that can happen on campus, especially in residence halls without alcohol,” Sewalish said.

The hall council wants to show students the alternative activities that don’t involve alcohol, he said.

Giovanis said with the funds some student organizations could have the opportunity to host bigger events to reach more TCU students, which could further help raise alcohol awareness.

The funds are from the Alcohol and Drug Education Center’s budget, and if it receives a lot of positive responses and respect from the events, it would continue to support student organizations for at least the next year, Giovanis said.

Hannah Achim, president of TCU STAND, a student anti-genocide group fighting for Darfur recognition, is one of the organizations on campus applying for this fund. Achim said the group will host a dry event with the help of the fund.

She said alcohol awareness is a part of human awareness, and her group wants to promote global and human awareness.