2008 Woodie Awards
Buzzkill brews in city council
Rose Francois
Issue date: 12/8/04 Section: News
Throwing a good 'ole fashioned kegger in the future may require more than just money; it may now involve paperwork. If a new proposal by city councilor Stephen J. Murphy were to pass next year, any individual buying a keg within the city of Boston would be required to register before making such a purchase. Though Murphy's proposal is still being reviewed and would not be ready for presentation until January, many individuals - mostly college students - are keeping an eye on the keg issue.
Getting a keg would involve going to City Hall and filling a registration form. A wait period may be included in the proposal that "could be almost instantaneous ... within an hour," Murphy said. "It's not our intent to delay," explained Murphy. "It is our intent to track."
The impact the proposal may have on stores in the business of selling alcohol may vary. But many believe that the proposal would do very little to curb underage drinking. "People aren't gonna stop buying beer," said Joe Gomes, manager of Blanchard's Liquor Store in Allston. "They'll just buy it in a different form."
The proposal comes on the heels of recent events involving college students in often-violent situations where alcohol was a factor. The prime example that Murphy pointed to was the American League Championship Series riots, where Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove lost her life.
Gomes believes the major impact of this proposal, if passed, would be that sales of kegs would shift to cases of beer. Questioning what the proposal could accomplish in the wake of the Red Sox riots, Gomes stated, "99.9 percent of people didn't cause any trouble," adding that most individuals that night were probably drinking at bars and not at homes.
Murphy acknowledged that students with on-campus housing have better supervision from campus police and Resident Advisors, often keeping them from getting into the same incidents as their off-campus counterparts under little, if any supervision.