Two Iowa State students recently began a club to give their peers an alternative to drinking alcohol on weekends.

The Weekend Club was started by Brian Sheriff, senior in finance, and Ryan Eldridge, senior in electrical engineering, in the spring of 1998.

Eldridge, vice president of the club, said he and Sheriff came up with the idea of starting a club during a late-night talk last spring.

“We were talking about why the students drink to have fun,” Eldridge said.

He said their main goal is to provide an environment free of alcohol that brings students together to socialize.

“We also want to motivate the students to drive alcohol-free,” Eldridge said. He said they have seen considerable interest from ISU students.

“At Club Fest, almost 50 students signed up to be on our e-mailing list,” he said. “There were also people with families who showed interest.”

Dave Haden, student activities specialist and adviser of the club, said the club members welcome anyone from students to faculty to be involved in the club activities.

“Some students drink because there is nothing better to do, or they get frustrated because most of the people around them want to have fun in the presence of alcohol,” Haden said.

Eldridge said many students heard about the Weekend Club from a free open bowling and pool night in the Memorial Union.

“We had flyers for the event in the beginning of the semester, and we have a Web page,” he said.

Todd Schulz, treasurer of the club, said they received some funding from the Government of the Student Body.

“We also received a grant from the FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education) Drug and Violence Prevention Program in Higher Education from the U.S. Department of Education,” Schulz said.

Eldridge said the club members don’t have a main office or regular meetings.

“We usually send out a mass e-mail that goes to everyone on our mailing list,” he said. “There is not any membership fee for now, but we don’t know what tomorrow will show.”

Schulz said the club schedules meetings only to discuss upcoming activities.

“One time some of the members wanted to go bowling, and the rest wanted to go on a road trip,” Schulz said. “So we went to Des Moines to go bowling.”

Haden said he is glad there is a club like this on the ISU campus.

“The Weekend Club is trying to keep the non-alcoholic peace on campus,” Haden said.

“I am supporting any activity that could show the students to have fun without the presence of alcohol,” he said.

Schulz and Eldridge agreed that club members don’t put down drinking; they just try to provide students with a positive environment in which they can make lasting friendships.

“We are enjoying ourselves; we make potential friends, and we invite all the students to come and either join the club or participate in the activities we will be having on campus,” Eldridge said.