The next time you attend a private party on campus, it may be on the Student Union's dime.Union Officials say they are going through with a proposal to reimburse party sponsors up to $50 for party costs including alcohol, soft drinks, snacks and other expenses.

But rather than award the grant to the first party to register on both Friday and Saturday night, as officials had previously said, Director of Social Affairs Cindy Kaplan '08 and an ad-hoc committee will pick which two parties will contribute most to Brandeis' social scene by using a "thorough application" process.

Party sponsors who have registered their party with the Department of Residence Life may pick-up an application in the Student Union Office, which then must be returned by 7 p.m. on the Tuesday prior to the upcoming weekend.

"The first party [to register] doesn't necessarily mean it was the best party," Kaplan said. "We want to reward better and safer parties, instead of relying on the arbitrary process of who submits first."

The inititiave is just one recent effort by student leaders to improve social life. Union officials and Student Events are working with administrators to make it more affordable for alcohol to be served to students of age at campus functions. They say the required costly security measures are excessive.

Kaplan said promoting private parties in the residential halls is a good way to enhance social life, based upon the Student Union social life survey and informal communication she had with students.

"People on this campus prefer smaller parties to large gatherings," Kaplan said, emphasizing the proposal is not about alcohol but about "social life in general."

Unlike in previously discussed versions of the plan, suites are not the only location where Union-sponsored parties can take place. Students of all ages, Director of Communications Brian Paternostro '07 said, can request reimbursement for parties held in, for example, common rooms of first-year dorms.

There will not be a set committee deciding which parties each weekend to fund, Kaplan said, but, rather, she will consult with other Union members at the end of its office hours Tuesday evening.

Paternostro and Kaplan said the most creative party that appealed to the widest number of students would probably be the one selected to receive the grant, which would come out of the Executive Board's social life fund.

The funds would be reimbursed to the sponsor, Paternostro said, as long as there were no reports by Public Safety of unsafe behavior.

Assistant Dean of Student Life Maggie Balch said she "did not realize [the first party application process] was happening tomorrow," adding she was the Student Life administrator most involved in the discussions with Student Union officials over the proposal.

"We want to be team players," Balch said of her office's role in the Union initiative, adding in future weeks, she hopes that there will be more education provided to registered parties interested in the grant about safe substance use from the Alcohol Task Force.