A Virginia Supreme Court ruling likely will prohibit liquor ads in the student newspapers at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.

State regulations bar advertising of beer, wine and mixed drinks
in college student publications except in ads for restaurants.

But the student newspapers at Tech and U.Va. claimed the restriction
doesn't apply to them because at least half their readers are 21 or
older.

A lawsuit filed by the papers in 2006 prompted a federal judge to ask the Virginia Supreme Court to clarify how college newspapers are defined for the purpose of state Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations.

The justices said Friday that the definition can include papers with a majority of readers 21 and older if those publications are intended primarily for a younger audience.

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