Ryan Parks poured equal amounts of a golden-orange liquid into three shot glasses.

“Have you ever tried an apple pie shot?” he asked.

As a bartender at Es Tas Authentic Mexican Restaurant, a popular bar and grill near campus, Parks knows what students like to drink, and the apple pie shot is one of the more popular requests.

However, past events relating to the key ingredient in an apple pie shot, Everclear, have recently caused state regulators to consider placing statewide restrictions on the selling and consumption of the beverage, or a complete ban altogether.

With a 75.5 percent alcohol concentration, or 151 proof, the variety of Everclear currently available in Iowa is known for having one of the highest alcoholic contents available at some of the lowest prices. Along with being used to spike drinks at an average college party, it’s also strong enough to be used as an antiseptic, a medicine and a fuel.

But following the near-death of an underaged Drake University student who reportedly took five shots of Everclear during a Phi Delta Theta hazing session, the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Commission is debating whether or not Everclear should be available at all.

“One person did something they shouldn’t have and now no one can do it,” Parks said. “Most likely it’ll just have the opposite effect. You tell kids they’re not allowed to drink Everclear and that’ll probably be the first thing they’ll want to do.”

Parks said it would only make sense to ban Everclear if the Commission proceeded to ban other beverages with high alcoholic contents as well. Es Tas does not currently have many varieties of liquor with proofs equal to or higher than Everclear’s, but according to Parks, the few that they do have, including Bacardi 151, would still be available even if Everclear wasn’t.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Raymond Lovell, a former business major at Iowa State and patron at Es Tas. “The proof of the alcohol doesn’t really matter — it’s the amount that a person does. By making this one beverage illegal, they’re just trying to make the proof illegal across the board.”

Michelle Hendricks, director of student health at the Thielen Student Health Center, agreed the risk of alcohol consumption is about more than just the concentration of the beverage. She said while it’s important for students to be aware of the “proofs” of any liquor they’re consuming, it’s equally important to control the volume of liquor consumed as well.

“I can imagine that the motivation behind a possible ban is all about reducing risks, and there may be merit to that,” Hendricks said. “The fact is that high-risk alcohol intake is associated with very dangerous and significant outcomes, such as acute alcohol poisoning.”

Hendricks said young alcohol consumers tend to think they will gain a “tolerance” for large amounts or high intakes of alcohol when, in actuality, it is very easy for the body to be overwhelmed physiologically and not show behavioral symptoms of alcohol overdose.

 Hendricks said students only looking for the telltale signs of high-risk alcohol consumption, such as proofs or drunkenness, may intake a higher concentration of alcohol than their bodies can tolerate very regularly.

“People make mistakes,” said Jennifer Childress, another customer at Es Tas.

“The government can’t try to take control of every mistake people make. People don’t always wear their seat belts, but that doesn’t mean you’d ban driving.”

Childress said the Commission is focusing on the wrong issue and instead of trying to regulate alcohol consumption across the board, officials should investigate the context under which dangerous alcohol-related incidents occur.

“Maybe they should tackle hazing before they try to deal with drinking,” Childress said.

Derek Buman, member and house manager for the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Iowa State, said that underage alcohol consumption and hazing are both problems that can be solved by education, but that neither plague the Phi Delta Theta chapter at Iowa State.

“It’s unfortunate that a Phi Delt member was involved in that situation, but I don’t think that’s any representation of our house or of greek life in general,” Buman said. “It all comes down to a personal decision.”

Buman also noted the fraternity has regular discussions with the substance abuse programming director on campus, doesn’t allow alcohol in the house, assigns designated drivers every weekend and does not endorse or participate in hazing.

Buman said although Phi Delta Theta does its best to dampen illegal and risky alcohol consumption, a ban on Everclear would be pointless.

“Alcohol is a great thing if it’s enjoyed in moderation,” Buman said. “If Everclear was banned, I would assume that students would just switch to another drink they enjoy.”

Hendricks agreed that a ban may not be necessary.

“The risks associated with alcohol consumption in these kinds of quantities can happen in a variety of settings and not just with one product,” Hendricks said. “Our focus should be on globally reducing these kinds of situations and educating young alcohol consumers.”