A 23-year-old woman died last week. She did not have to.

Stephanie Yau, a woman who graduated from Penn State just last year, is dead. Her death is connected to the possible overdose ingestion of the illegal drug Ecstasy.

This is a tragic reminder of the repercussions of taking these and other illegal drugs.

If what Yau's friends told police is true -- she had never taken the drug before or it was one of the first times she had taken it -- her death could have been preventable with education and that education is very necessary.

People need to become more knowledgeable about drugs such as Ecstasy before ingesting them into their bodies. It is a knowledge that could be saving lives.

Although many people may be knowledgeable about drugs and continue to take them, any bit of knowledge is helpful. Knowing how much of a drug is "safe" is better than ignorantly taking a drug.

Maybe if more information were available about the substances they decide to take, people who use or have used drugs would not be dealing with the same risks they deal with now.

Officials agree there are dangers from buying drugs "off the street."

State College Police Lt. Diane Conrad stressed the risks of buying drugs from random sellers because in most cases, if the seller is unknown to the buyer, the contents of the pills are unknown.

State College Police Chief Tom King personally called locations that host rave parties to ask them to stop hosting them, a decision made after Yau's death.

Stopping rave parties is not going to stop drug usage, but education might.

Although associated with raves, Ecstasy and other illicit drugs can be found in all party atmospheres. Walking into a bar, fraternity party or even apartment parties presents the possibility of the presence of drugs.

Users can and will find other alternatives to do the drug. It does not take a party of any type for a person to take a drug. Furthermore, discontinuing rave parties only gives underage college students, and people who enjoy that type of party medium, less to do in State College.

It is a late-night option for many underage college students who do not like to drink alcohol and prefer the techno music scene.

Not everyone who attends rave parties takes illegal drugs. Although Yau's death is disheartening, to truly rid State College of illegal drug usage will take more than shutting down raves.

It will take a collective effort by the community to push for more awareness of drug usage and the consequences of ingestion to keep more students from this sort of tragedy.