A Deadly Program

Semester At Sea, run by the Institute for Shipboard Education and the University of Pittsburgh, carries nearly 600 college students around the world each semester aboard the S.S. Universe Explorer. Since the program began in 1963, under the name World Campus Afloat, 30,000 students have participated. Tuition, room, board and incidentals cost up to $20,000 per student, including side trips at about a dozen ports-of-call. Students can pick from about 275 side trips organized to give them an opportunity to learn about local history and culture.

Although the preceding are facts about the program, they don't show the program's safety record, or give information about any accidents or deaths; information not printed in Semester At Sea's brochures. From 1973 to 1995 there were 6 lives lost. Then on March 27, 1996, the worst tragic accident ever with Semester At Sea happened and the worst tragedy to our family. Our daughter, Cherese, died in India, along with three other female students, one senior gentlemen and two Indians. They were all killed when their bus driver, who had been on duty for somewhere between 30 and 50 hours and drinking and speeding, lost control of their tour bus and crashed.

The students had paid for a four day field trip in India. The itinerary for day three (March 27), was in part to fly from Varanasi to Agra and view the Taj Mahal at dusk. The Institute knew weeks before this date that they were not going to provide air travel or to view the Taj Mahal at dusk. So the Institute decided not to tell the students, and instead put them on a bus at night. This is fraud!  This is a tragedy that never should have happened! On September 12, 1997, the USA TODAY newspaper came out with an article about this accident and the safety issues of studying abroad. When the ship is not being used by Semester At Sea, it is leased out for cruises to Alaska. In the summer of 1996 there were 732 passengers on board when a fire broke out on the ship. Five crew members died of smoke inhalation, 55 crew members and one passenger were injured, 13 of which were serious enough to be hospitalized. And this September, the ship is once again sailing around the world with more than 600 American college students with Semester At Sea. In a recent press release, the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, James Hall, stated he was very concerned. An article in the Fri.-Sun., September, 19-21, 1997 issue of USA TODAY said "Hall, in a rare public criticism, on Wednesday assailed the school and the program, Semester at Sea, for allowing the ship to depart without installing a sprinkler system or individual smoke alarms."  Hall said "I can't believe that responsible administrators at the University of Pittsburgh would permit this."

Safety experts give the following advice for students considering traveling abroad:

* Ask for details on crime, illness, accidents and other perils encountered by students in the past, and ask what has been done to avoid reoccurrences.
* Find out how host families are screened and whether you can move to a different family if a problem develops.

* Be clear on what is covered when you sign a release form. Conversely, know when and how to blow the whistle if you feel safety or health is being compromised.

* Find out which staff member on site is responsible for safety, health and security. Also find out what procedures are in place to handle emergencies.

* Ask about health and safety standards applied to providers of transportation, tours, cultural programs and housing.

* Get in writing how your study will be credited.

* Be absolutely sure about insurance coverage away from home, regardless of what the school offers, requires or recommends. Understand how and to what extent costly medical evacuations are covered.

* Invest in a student ID card issued by Council on International Education Exchange. The $20 fee identifies the bearer as a student and entitles the carrier to health and accident insurance; $25,000 toward medical evacuation ( in which cases students must be transported for treatment ) and $7,500 toward repatriation of remains.

You should know, that even though we did ask all these questions and did everything we thought would ensure Cherese's safety, we were never told the truth from the people with Semester at Sea. They never told us there were other deaths over the years, and most importantly, they NEVER told us they would lie, commit fraud and take our daughter's life.

They can NEVER be trusted to tell you the truth. If they had Cherese would be alive today because she NEVER would have taken the trip in the first place.

Thank you for taking the time to read this information, we will keep this site updated as we learn new information.
 
 
 

This website is not sponsored, endorsed or otherwise associated with The Institute for Shipboard Education or Semester at Sea.