I took issue with The Daily Free Press editorial regarding the proposed Maine law that would make filling out a college application a high-school requirement (“A Maine flaw in thought,” Oct. 23, p. 4). To start, I do not necessarily disagree that the proposed law is flawed; it certainly needs revision. Instead, I take offense to the blanket statements you made that are seemingly unresearched. What is this “broken system” to which you are referring? The entire Maine public school system? I certainly hope not. Unless you, like me, are a product of the Maine public school system, I’m guessing you know little about how it works. (And if you are from Maine and had such a negative experience, I’m sorry to hear that.)

Of course the system has its flaws – what public school system in this country does not? That said, many high schools in Maine do, in fact, have programs that encourage kids of all financial backgrounds to apply to college and show them how it is financially feasible. I participated in several of them.

Further, have you done much research into Maine’s state legislature? Do you know for sure that all of these individuals are highly educated snobs, as you seemed to portray them? I can assure you, as I know a few of them, this is not the case with all of them. They actually are paid very little and many hold second jobs. Encouraging kids to go to college is a great idea, as long as we remember that a four-year program is not for everyone. Going to technical school or getting an apprenticeship is OK. Not everyone needs to go to a university for four years like most of us are.

Again, I’d like to say that I do not disagree that the law is flawed and needs some revision. Nor do I disagree that you have every right to publish whatever you want. But I do hope that next time you write an editorial, it is better researched and avoids generalized comments about “broken systems.”

Alexandra Dyke

CAS ’08