If awarded the $8,000 grant from the Governor's Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse Inc., UNC will use the money to increase students' familiarity with the policy and to address specific alcohol abuse issues on campus.
The meeting came two weeks after two students received citations due to a policy they say is confusing and unfair.
Freshmen Jackie Fritz and Michael Dorfman received citations on April 2 for possession of alcohol, although they claim they were not drinking or in possession of alcohol. Fritz and Dorfman were in a room at Hinton James Residence Hall with several underage drinkers and open containers of alcohol when campus police officers issued the citations.
To be eligible for the grant, UNC must form a coalition of students, faculty, administrators and town residents that will receive the awarded money and utilize it for educational purposes.
Dean Blackburn, coordinator of UNC Substance Abuse Programs, said about 25 universities will apply for the grant but only 10 grants will be awarded.
The initial steps of the project began at an April 4 meeting of administrators from universities across the state, including UNC Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Sue Kitchen and state officials. They met to address problems of alcohol abuse on college campuses.
Ferris Morrison, manager of public relations for the Governor's Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse Inc., said the main goal of the project is to reduce high risk behaviors involving alcohol.
Blackburn attended another statewide meeting of university officials Wednesday in Winston-Salem to discuss implementation and usage of the grants.
Recipients of the grants will be announced June 22 and the money will be awarded July 1. Dorfman said that he is supportive of money being awarded to the University for improvements in alcohol policy issues but that he is also skeptical.
