Remedial Classes at Cal State

Re “Protest Targets Student Newspaper,� Nov. 3: It is disturbing to see that such young students are using the liberal model of meeting criticism head on by demanding that those who criticize “their� program, one that gives a leg up to students who should not have been admitted to the university in the first place, be put out of business. It seems these students believe in the 1st Amendment right of free speech as long as it agrees with their bend on a particular topic.

What is even more frightening is the admission by the California State University system that 54% of all freshmen need remediation in math and almost 50% need remediation in English. These freshman remediation students are a product of a dumbed-down high school education system here in California. Like the campus newspaper the so-called aggrieved students want to shut down, ask yourself this: Why does a university system continue to admit students who cannot do math and who cannot speak our language?

TIM LUCKETT

Rancho Cucamonga

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Students needing remedial classes should not be attending a university at all. The purpose of a university is to teach the students advanced concepts, not elementary ones. If remedial classes are needed, then those students should finish them before applying to a university. Social promotion must stop at all levels, including at the university level.

Somehow, I don’t get a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach when I hear that students who need remedial classes might be the ones teaching our kids in the future.

RAYMOND TAM

Monrovia