To the Editor:
"The 2011 Higher Ed News Quiz" (The Chronicle, December 16) had me chuckling until I read Question 5—"What does Academically Adrift refer to?"—and the first of the possible multiple-choice answers: "The key role that Semester at Sea plays in the global trafficking of study drugs like Adderall and Ritalin."
Prescription-drug abuse by college students is no laughing matter. According to the National Institutes of Health, the growing abuse of prescription drugs is highest among young adults aged 18 to 25, with 5.9 percent reporting nonmedical use in the previous month. In an international environment, students abusing prescription drugs may suffer even greater consequences and health risks. While I appreciate the intended humor, The Chronicle's decision to make light of drug abuse and international trafficking—an offense that carries the death penalty in many countries—is in extremely poor taste.
Les McCabe
President
Institute for Shipboard Education/Semester at Sea
Charlottesville, Va.
