Don’t Rule Out Cal State Site Near CYA

Regarding the search for an appropriate Cal State campus site, a recent issue of the Ventura County section of The Times stated that “the trustees questioned the Advisory Committee’s recommendation on land . . . next to the California Youth Authority near Camarillo, where young criminals are housed.”

It sounds to me like those charged with the advancement of our stead seem to be regressing into the mentality of the Dark Ages.

Certainly the sites near the Youth Authority and Camarillo State Hospital should not be ruled out solely because of proximity to either facility.

Considering the dollars spent to solve the problems of our society, it is sobering to realize that neither money nor the government can cure our ills. Perhaps education, religion and solid family values can. Unfortunately, our generation has done a better job of letting legislators squander our tax dollars than it has in staying married and raising our progeny responsibly.

There could be no better place for eager college minds to learn about physical, mental, developmental and domestic problems, as well as the destructive effects of drugs and crime. This unique situation could easily attract anthropologists, sociologists, criminologists and law enforcement scholars from our entire nation.

With proper leadership, this future campus could easily become the place to study social sciences in California.

Caught in a vicious cycle, it is paradoxical that our children are not only a cause of, but also an effect of, our problem-laden society. The day is rapidly approaching when they will have to resurrect their own generation as well as ours. An education in the proper setting with focus on workable solutions will be mandatory. Pray that the trustees get their heads out of the sand.

ANDREW N. CATTANO, M.D., Oxnard