Two Student Government Association senators received $1,000 campus innovation grants from the Association of Student Governments (ASG) last weekend.

ASG offers the grants to UNC system students who can demonstrate a way the grants will benefit their school and find sponsors to back them dollar for dollar.

SGA Director of Public Relations Vonté McKenith plans to put his grant toward “Promise,” a program which promotes awareness about the consequences of drinking and driving.

“Once I thought of the program and the number of people I know that have been affected by drinking and driving, I couldn’t let this initiative that I had go down the drain,” McKenith said.

McKenith, whose grant was backed by SGA, plans to host the program March 6.

Cannon Hall Senator Alex Cotton will use the grant to fund her own initiative, a trial period for reusable to-go containers.

“This is just a trial run,” Cotton said. “This won’t be offered to the whole campus. We’re just trying to go ahead and work out all the glitches.”

Getting reusable to-go containers on campus was one of Cotton’s goals as a senator.

“We have to try new things,” Cotton said. “It may cost a lot of money but it’s a positive thing for the world and the environment.”

Cotton spoke to representatives from N.C. State, UNC-Asheville, East Carolina and UNC-Wilmington about their reusable to-go container systems.

“All of them already have this ecobox system,” she said. “It works for them. Why can’t it work for us?”

Cotton’s program will be implemented in the fall of 2012. Her grant will be backed by Appalachian Food Services.

Food Services Director Art Kessler said he was excited about the program going through a trial period in the upcoming semester.

“We’ve been working on it for a while so it’s great that it’s finally going to go through,” he said.

Story: ANNE BUIE, Senior News Reporter