Pennsylvania is in the top 10 when it comes to the number of alcohol and drug arrests of college students. So says a recent study done by Project Know. Even more alarming is the disclosure that East Stroudsburg University is in the top 10 nationally.

A spokesman for the study says that the high rates of on-campus arrests can either be a badge of honor or shame, depending on the interpretation of the data.

One school of thought is that almost all colleges have problems with alcohol and drugs; therefore, those that rank high for arrests stand out for their diligent policing and truthful reporting. An ESU official said that just because a school has more arrests doesn't necessarily mean there is more drinking on campus.

The other point of view takes the opposite stance: High rates mean exactly that, because there is more alcohol abuse compared to other colleges and universities.

ESU was fourth among Pennsylvania colleges and seventh nationally in the greatest number of alcohol arrests in the study, which uses data from 2014. At the top of the list nationally is West Chester University. Also making the top 25 were: Shippensburg University, fourth; Slippery Rock University, sixth; Indiana University of Pennsylvania, eighth; Lehigh University, ninth; Bloomsburg University, 12th; Penn State, 15th; and Kutztown, 23rd.

The arrest rate for alcohol-related offenses was 6.06 per 1,000 students, the study said, putting Pennsylvania sixth among the 50 states.

There has been an intense focus on the number of alcohol-related incidents statewide during the past seven months, including the most infamous: the death of a Hunterdon County, New Jersey, student at Penn State during a fraternity party on Feb. 4.

Tim Piazza, a 19-year-old sophomore engineering student, was a pledge at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. While undergoing a hazing ritual called "the Gauntlet," which involved drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time, he fell numerous times and injured himself critically, but medical help was not summoned until the next morning.

Combined, the fraternity and 14 of its members are facing a total of more than 800 criminal charges. The college also suspended the fraternity indefinitely.

Last week, a 19-year-old Lafayette College freshman, McCrae Williams, died of blunt-force head injuries, according to Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim.

Williams, of Weston, Massachusetts, attended a beer party with other members of the men's and women's lacrosse teams on Sept. 9 before returning to his dorm room at Lafayette College in Easton and falling down on the way to the bathroom, District Attorney John Morganelli said.

He was found outside a dormitory on Sept. 10 and died about a day later at Lehigh Valley Hospital.Morganelli said he doesn't plan to file charges in the case.

Meanwhile, Bethlehem police arrested 20 students during the Sept. 8-9 weekend on and near the Lehigh University campus for alcohol-related infractions.

They said police responded to complaints of loud parties and underage drinking. Five students were taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning, police reports indicated.

Bethlehem Police Chief Mark DiLuzio said someone set up a speaker in a window and blasted the 1988 NWA rap song " 'F' the Police." He said the students will be cited for disorderly conduct and underage drinking.

The incident followed on the heels of 57 police arrests for underage drinking at Lehigh earlier in September near the start of the fall semester.

After similar incidents last year, Lehigh President John D. Simon made an impassioned plea for students to consider the dangers of extreme drinking, but these pleas obviously have fallen on deaf ears.

According to the Project Know report, more than 8 million youngsters between the ages of 12 and 20 reported drinking alcohol beyond a few sips in the previous month that they were surveyed. "Young people who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop dependence on alcohol," the report said.

We are alarmed, and you should be, too, that the report concluded that although binge-drinking had declined between 2002 and 2014, there are still more than 5 million young people who reported being binge-drinkers and 1.3 million who said they are "heavy drinkers."

"These numbers reveal an alarmingly extensive problem and underscore the fact that alcohol is most widely misused substance among America's youth," the report said.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com