STUDENTS DOUBT GRAIN BAN WILL QUENCH COLLEGE THIRSTS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 18, 1993                   TAG: 9303180123
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JESSICA MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
STUDENTS DOUBT GRAIN BAN WILL QUENCH COLLEGE THIRSTS
Many college students are skeptical of a bill passed by the General Assembly that prohibits the sale of 153-proof grain alcohol, expressing doubt it will have any impact on campus drinking habits.
"I'd like to say that it would make a difference," said Amy Boles, student president of Radford University's BACCHUS, an organization that promotes alcohol awareness on campus.
"But students will find a way to get around the law, just like they have found a way to get around the keg law."
In January, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board began requiring beer drinkers to register when they rent kegs. The result generally has been more beer-drinking from cans and bottles.
David Wade, a senior at Roanoke College, also doubted that anyone's drinking habits would change because of the ban on grain alcohol. "If you're going to drink, you're going to drink," he said, suggesting that students would consume greater quantities of lower-proof alcohol.
Students said the ban is not addressing the real issue, which they view as irresponsible drinking behavior.
Meghan Kalil, a senior at Hollins College, said grain parties are uncommon, but when they do occur, they are advertised as "punch parties." Kalil said the only grain party she has ever attended was a different experience from other parties with alcohol.
It was "a wild event," she said, and "one that I don't think I'd like to go to again."
The grain alcohol was mixed with fruit drink and served from a punch bowl. "I drank my punch quickly. It tasted like regular punch. Someone offered to get me more and I said `sure'. After drinking two glasses of punch, I had no idea I was drunk until I stood up.
"I don't think that I was the only one affected that way," Kalil said.
Kalil does not think a ban will help students drink responsibly. "It's naive to think that no one is going to get drunk at a party, regardless of whether grain is served or not."
Del. Julia Connally, D-Arlington, said she sponsored the bill because grain alcohol is clear, tasteless and odorless and easily can be served to unsuspecting guests.
Connally said one of the problems with grain is that it contains a higher level of alcohol than many are used to drinking. It easily can lead to intoxication, alcohol poisoning and unconsciousness.
"I sponsored this bill because there is no social benefit for state institutions, meaning ABC boards, to be selling this kind of highly intoxicating drink," Connally said.
Sales of grain alcohol generate close to $200,000 in revenue for the state, according to Bob Colvin, a member of the ABC Board.
Like Connally, college administrators hope the bill will help reduce some common campus problems with drinking.
Robie McFarland, acting dean of students at Hollins, said the bill would give more muscle to an existing college policy banning the consumption of grain alcohol on campus.
Tom Goodale, vice president for student affairs at Virginia Tech, spoke against the sale of grain during the Governor's Task Force meetings about substance abuse and sexual assault last fall. "The bill will take away a product that is used in an irresponsible manner," he said.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB