I read your article about drug arrests on some of our larger campuses
(Page 1B, June 4). There were great big numbers that made it sound
like our colleges are rife with users, pushers, and others in the drug
world.

I read the article twice looking for one important word, but it wasn't
there. At no place did the word ``conviction'' appear.

If a narcotics squad makes a hundred drug arrests on campus and gets
two convictions, that doesn't tell us much about drug use at the
college. A person who is picked up because he is standing close to
someone who is smoking a joint and then released is a ``drug arrest on
campus.'' Lots of these make astounding figures . They also (seem to)
justify next year's drug detail budget.

I hope you will give us a follow-up article on convictions for drug
use on campus.

M. V. Stivison,
San Jose