Bloomsburg University freshman Jared Drosnock was found dead last Sunday in an off-campus house. After drinking a combination of beer and 100-proof vodka, Drosnock "went to sleep and never woke up."

The Bucks County man who furnished Drosnock with alcohol the night Drosnock died will be charged with manslaughter for a death that was the result of what Columbia District Attorney John McDanel described as "reckless and grossly negligent" conduct.

But who really is to blame for Drosnock's death?

The night he died, Drosnock was drinking at a small party at the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house.

After downing one bottle of vodka, the man charged with manslaughter in Drosnock's death gave Drosnock a second bottle, according to police.

An 8mm film of Drosnock's last hours show the college freshman and Bloomsburg wrestling recruit drinking himself to death — literally.

That someone taped Drosnock as he drank himself into unconsciousness is deplorable, that no one was alarmed when he fell onto the floor in a house next door to the fraternity and later died there is appalling. But as shameful a behavior as watching a friend drink himself to incapacitation, it is not punishable by law.

However, the initial act of furnishing the alcohol Drosnock drank is.

The price of responsibility will be high. If the man charged is found guilty of manslaughter, he might face not only fines and an indelible mark on his legal record, but time in prison.

Perhaps the charges filed against him will be a provocative reminder to the Penn State community that responsibility in regards to drinking is both personal and cooperative in nature.

Arguably, it is up to the individual to first use discretion while drinking. But as long as we choose to be involved in a social culture centered around alcohol, and in which alcohol is frequently furnished to minors, the responsibility for how drinking is done lies upon the shoulders of us all.

In death, Drosnock's name will be added to the litany of names of the many who have died in alcohol-related deaths, and more alarming, to the growing list of college students who have died or come close to death as the result of alcohol poisoning.

We hope that this list of names will not grow so long that we forget the very real and painful impact irresponsible drinking can have. We hope this college town can let Bloomsburg University's highly preventable tragedy serve as a sharp reminder of alcohol's potentially fatal effects.