Nothing is forever. Companies collapse, contracts dissolve and warranties expire. But when a well-regarded name is attached to a virtually unknown product, someone should assume responsibility for that partnership. Unfortunately, in the case of MPC Corp. and Marquette University, Marquette has failed to hold up its end of the deal.

Until last June, Marquette promoted MPC as one of the best deals on computers for its students. Many students trusted the university's judgment and purchased laptops from the now-defunct company even though the devices were prone to breaking — often more than four times in as many years.

Under the deal between students and MPC, external problems with the devices — cracked screens, broken keys, malfunctioning parts — generally would be fixed or replaced by MPC for no cost, no questions asked. So long as the computer's hard drive was still operating, MPC would send new "shells" to students experiencing problems.

When MPC filed for bankruptcy in November, those repairs ceased. And the university has no plans to pick up the slack.

It is not the university's fault that MPC manufactured a shoddy product and has subsequently gone under. In fact, we would venture to guess that it was business garnered from Marquette that kept the company going for as long as it did.

But the university did recommend MPC products to students. The students who trusted Marquette's word now have nowhere to turn for trouble-shooting, fixes and replacements.

According to the University Office of Marketing and Communication, "The troubleshooting Marquette provides [for MPC products] is the same that it supplies for all students — technical assistance through the Help Desk and Wired Office in Schroeder Hall, virus clean-up and recommending vendors for hardware repair."

In this case, the university should pick up more than its fair share of the slack. When a student brings his or her MPC into IT Services, Marquette should go above and beyond in these extenuating circumstances. The university should continue to provide the services MPC itself offered up until a couple of months ago — providing new bodies and parts for the computers.

Students understand that the university lost in this deal as much as they did. MPC was not the company Marquette thought it was, and when its financial problems became apparent, Marquette rightly severed the relationship. But to shirk its responsibility to students is unacceptable. Students won't blame Marquette for MPC's failure as long as Marquette is held accountable for a product that it endorsed.