A 19-year-old college student stood outside a Sacramento gas station with a $5 bill in hand asking customers to buy beer for him.

After about a half an hour, he had a taker -- a construction worker who was filling his pickup truck with gas.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor and buy me a 40-ounce Bud Light?" asked the student, a decoy in a sting operation led by state Alcoholic Beverage Control investigators.

The 33-year-old man went in the store and returned with a Coors Light instead.

"He gave me back my change -- most don't," the decoy said.

As the student walked away with the beer, officers arrested the man on suspicion of buying alcohol for someone under 21 years old. He was released, but faces a fine of up to $1,000.

Thursday night's undercover operation, which lasted about seven hours and involved 16 law enforcement officers from three agencies, focused on alcohol sales to minors.

"Our biggest objective is dealing with businesses where minors buy alcohol," said ABC investigator Jeff Gregson.

By the time the sting ended at 2:45 a.m., officers had arrested 23 people, including 14 college students.

The last nine people were arrested at Mirage Restaurant, 1361 Fulton Ave., after a fight broke out. Six were minors, two were bartenders and one was the owner of the liquor license, ABC officials said.

The sting operation is part of a statewide effort to crack down on drinking problems related to college students.

"Reducing access to alcohol in the place where students live, study and socialize is crucial to reducing underage and binge drinking," said ABC spokesman Mark DeSio.

Funded through federal and state grants, the program centers on alcohol education, DUI checkpoints and illegal alcohol sales enforcement near eight California State University campuses. University officials hope to expand the program

"There have been several incidents involving alcohol where CSU students have been killed," said Clara Potes-Fellow, a CSU spokeswoman.

"The goal is to save lives by making campus life a little bit safer by educating the students on drinking responsibly. No one expects them not to drink, but we do want them to limit it," she said.

CSU officials said that so far the program has been a success, with universities showing the following reductions: 30 percent in alcohol-related incidents in residence halls, 20 to 30 percent in citations for driving under the influence, and 5 to 10 percent in underage drinking and general alcohol use.

A 2002 Core Alcohol and Drug survey showed that CSUS students have fewer problems with alcohol abuse than university students nationwide.

According to the survey, 29 percent of CSUS students reported having had five drinks in one sitting in the two weeks prior to the survey, compared with 42 percent nationwide.

But even one student drinker can result in tragedy, said Heather Dunn Carlton, chairwoman of the CSUS alcohol advisory council.

As the result of a night of binge drinking, one CSUS student is dead and another is incarcerated for his best friend's death.

On Oct. 20, 2001, Jesse Patrick Snow and Stephen Shane Head drove away intoxicated from the Chevy's restaurant on Howe Avenue. Head was driving his Camaro at high speeds when it veered into the opposite lane on Response Road, jumped a curb and hit a light pole and two trees.

Both 20-year-olds were thrown from the car. Snow died of his injuries.

Head, who had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, was sentenced in November to four years in prison for vehicular manslaughter. He is serving his sentence at Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown.

At the request of Snow's parents, Patricia Metzger-Snow and Stephen Snow, Chevy's restaurant donated $50,000 to CSUS for alcohol-awareness programs.

The donation and more than $60,000 in government grants go toward alcohol-education programs, such as presentations during summer orientation, a social norms campaign, 21st birthday cards and a high school outreach program.

"Our focus has been to reduce the high-risk drinking rate, reduce driving under the influence, and helping them develop other, healthy activities," Carlton said.

ABC investigators understand that despite their efforts, young people will continue to drink, but they hope to curtail the problem by targeting illegal sales of alcohol.

"If you are able to emphasize that ABC is out there checking, it makes for a safer environment," DeSio said. "You can do all the education you want, but a lot of times it comes down to enforcement."