‘Campuses and the Future’

Your editorial spoke of the growth required of our University of California campuses to accommodate growing student-admission requests. The answer proposed was well-managed growth of the system, and more money. The same day, an article reported that American 13-year-olds tested lowest of several nations in math and science; lower than Korea and Spain.

There is a better answer to the university problem; raise university admission standards to keep the total number of students from rising. The quality of future graduates is surely more important than quantity, is it not? The state does not have a responsibility to supply degrees to all who wish them; only to provide an achievement opportunity for all. The University of California is not a growth industry; surely bigger is not better.

Some of the large amount of money saved by this approach should be liberally allocated to student aid for disadvantaged achievers, so that the requirement to obtain a degree in California is competence only.

Furthermore, higher university standards surely will force higher standards on our high schools, killing two birds with one stone.

HENRY SWIFT

Goleta