Purdue's Grand Alternative to offer substance-free fun

Dozens of campus organizations, offices and departments are taking part in this year's Grand Alternative, a coalition of groups offering alcohol-free ways to have fun during Grand Prix.

Grand Alternative 2006 will feature a wide range of events, including games, movies, dances, organized recreational sporting events, a comedy show and music.

Events begin April 10 and continue through April 23. The 2006 Grand Prix race is scheduled for April 22.

The Grand Alternative was originally conceived in 1998 when Steve Cain, a campus minister at the Wesley Foundation, initiated a community-wide coalition of student groups with the goal of celebrating the Grand Prix safely and without alcohol. Grand Alternative got its official start in 1999 with a grant from the Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Tippecanoe County.

All Grand Alternative events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. The following is a complete list of activities and sponsors.

• Monday, April 10: Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association, Purdue Cooperative Council, Chauncey Cooperative and the Office of the Dean of Students, convocation featuring speaker Mark Sterner "DUI: A Powerful Lesson," 7 p.m., Elliott Hall of Music.

• Saturday, April 15: Purdue University Triathlon Club, Grand Prix Duration, 10 a.m., Vawter Field.

• Sunday, April 16: AIESEC, cultural diversity banquet, 7 p.m. to midnight, Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom, $10 per person; women's tennis, Purdue vs. Northwestern, 11 a.m.

• Monday, April 17: Purdue Student Union Board, Student Wellness Office, Diversity Resource Office, WBAA, Ally Association, Queer Student Union, Windsor Hall WRH Club, Harrison Hall Cavalier Club and Earhart Hall Itasca Club, AIDS awareness WBAA town forum, 7 p.m. Purdue Memorial Union Great Hall.

• Tuesday, April 18: Chinese Calligraphy Club, Calligraphy Appreciation Day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Purdue Memorial Union across from Villa Pizza.

• Wednesday, April 19: Hellenic Student Association, Greek-style cookout, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Purdue Memorial Mall, $1 per person; Purdue Wildlife Society, Animal Calls Karaoke, 6 p.m., Pfendler Lawn; Purdue Men's Lacrosse Club vs. Indiana University, 7-10 p.m., Gold Intramural Fields; Purdue Catholic Students, Keggeroke, 8-11 p.m., St. Thomas Aquinas Center, 535 W. State St.

• Thursday, April 20: Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Fun Ride with ITE, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Purdue Mall, cost $1.50 per person; Cary Club, Cary Fest: Rock the Quad, 5-8 p.m., Cary Quad Spitzer Courtyard; Delta Phi Mu sorority, Salsa Night, 6-8 p.m., Black Cultural Center Multipurpose Room; Alpha Phi Omega, third annual Trike Races, 6-10 p.m., Memorial Mall; Purdue Student Union Board, outdoor movie, 8 p.m. (dusk), Slayter Hill.

• Friday, April 21: Purdue Grand Prix Foundation, Grand Prix Day, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Memorial Mall/Engineering Mall; Purdue Student Union Board, Earth Day, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Union front lawn; baseball, Purdue vs. Michigan, 3 p.m., cost $2 per person, Lambert Field; softball, Purdue vs. Iowa, 3 p.m., cost $2 per person, Varsity Softball Complex; Recreational Fishing Club, kickball tournament, 6-9 p.m., Intramural Softball Diamonds; Windsor Residence Hall, Windsor Grand Prix Carnival, 4-8 p.m., Windsor Circle; Campus Christian Fellowship of University Church, Luau-Palooza, 4-10 p.m., Vawter Field; Collegiate Fellowship at Purdue, Balance Life, 6-9 p.m., Rawls Hall, Room 1071; Owen Hall Hussars, Life-Size Monopoly, 7-11 p.m., Owen Hall West Dining Room; Purdue Model United Nations, Grand Gyration the Alternative Vibration, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom; Black Student Union, Hip Hop Freestyle Battle, 7-9 p.m., Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse.

• Saturday, April 22: Grand Prix Race, 9 a.m., Grand Prix Track; Purdue Running Club, Grand Prix 5K, 10:15 a.m., Memorial Mall, $15 entry fee; softball, Purdue vs. Iowa, noon, cost $2 per person, Varsity Softball Complex; Men's tennis vs. Iowa, noon, Varsity Tennis Courts; baseball, Purdue vs. Michigan, 1 p.m., cost $2 per person, Lambert Field; La Milonguera, Purdue Argentinean Tango Club, Tango Passion, 1-5 p.m., Matthews Hall, Room 304; Purdue Student Union Board, Battle of the Bands, 1-7 p.m., Slayter Hill; Christian Student Fellowship, Hawaiian Grand Prix Luau, 4-7 p.m., 401 Russell St.; Impact Movement, Comedy Show, 6:30-10 p.m., Loeb Playhouse; Wesley Foundation Council on Ministries, live music and coffeehouse, 7-11 p.m., Wesley Foundation Great Hall.

• Sunday, April 23: Recreational Fishing Club, fishing cookout, noon to 4 p.m., Wildcat Creek Park; softball, Purdue vs. Wisconsin, noon, cost $2 per person, Varsity Softball Complex; baseball, Purdue vs. Michigan, 1 p.m., cost $2 per person, Lambert Field; Men's Tennis vs. Minnesota, 2 p.m., Varsity Tennis Courts; Purdue Juggling and Unicycle Club, Juggling Extravaganza, 2-3:30 p.m., Fowler Hall; Purdue Student Government, Grand Alternative concert featuring Lucky Boys Confusion, 2:30 p.m., Slayter Hill, free for Purdue students.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Source: Lindsey D. Baker, Office of the Dean of Students graduate administrative professional, (765) 494-1231, bakerld@exchange.purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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