The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) announced last week the revision of a rule which will directly affect those who plan on buying five or more kegs of beer.The new rule, called “5 for 5,” or simply Rule 68, goes into effect on Aug. 9. From that point on, any purchase of five or more kegs of beer intended to be consumed at a non-liquor permit premise will have to be registered with the beer distributor, according to Ed Duvall, deputy director of the ODPS Investigative Unit.The purchaser must first submit a notarized affidavit to the distributor five working days before the date of purchase. “The affidavit has the person’s name, address and phone number where the event will be held,” Duvall said.By signing the form, the purchaser will be agreeing to refrain from distributing alcohol to anyone under the age of 21, and allow law enforcement agents to monitor their event. After being received by the distributor, the affidavit will then be forwarded to the ODPS Investigative Unit. With knowledge of where these multikeg parties will be held, the hope is that law enforcement agencies will be able to monitor these events more effectively and therefore speed up response time in the case of an emergency.Although it seems reasonable to assume the revision was sparked by recent out-of-hand college keg parties – namely Ohio State’s 40-keg outing last spring which attracted Columbus police armed with riot gear – Mike Widner, Ohio Commission of Liquor Control spokesperson, disagrees.”It was an existing rule, and every five years state agencies have to review a portion of the rules,” Widner said. “It helps us to eliminate obsolete rules.”About 15 rules get reviewed every year, Winder said, and the revision of Rule 68 keeps tighter tabs on liquor sales.”It’s not OSU campus,” Duvall said. “We go through this all over the state with both formal and informal groups.”Duvall cited the revision as a collaboration between ODPS and the Liquor Control Commission, the Wholesale Beer and Wine Industry and Ohio Parents for a Drug-Free Youth, among other groups.Youth safety was a main point of consideration when revising the rule.”Anytime underagers are hearing that there’s a big kegger, they’re attracted to it. They’ve been attracted to it since the beginning of time,” Duvall said.”We’re having underagers that are drinking in excess and going out driving,” he said. “Now we have sat down and come to an amicable agreement that all could live with: This five keg and above limit.”The decision on campus, however, is split. Some students commend Rule 68 as a step in the right direction, while others see it as jaded.”I feel that it is a good thing,” said Jennifer Linn, a freshman pre-med major, “but it’s unrealistic to restrict the consumption of alcohol, because more often than not, students can get it if they want it.”Duvall agrees there are many ways to get around the law. A single purchaser, he points out, could collect four kegs from each distributor around town and compile a hefty stash of beer.”That is going to happen,” Duvall said. But even so, in the event of a mass-keg party being planned without ODPS knowing about it, “The odds are pretty good that local law enforcement will hear about it anyway,” he said.Historically, wherever there have been laws, there have been people who do anything in their power to get around those laws.”You see the speed limit sign on the freeway, you have the option to go in excess of that speed if you so choose, and there are consequences to that,” Duvall said.Monica Papp, a senior natural resources major, said the new law may infringe on the rights of more responsible drinkers.”If they’re targeting college students,” she said, “it should be narrowed down a little bit. Maybe the law could apply only to people under a certain age limit.”Papp feels this all-inclusive law questions the integrity of those drinkers who are looking to supply alcohol for a large event like a family reunion or a wedding reception.”When I get married,” she said, “I don’t want cops at my wedding.”