Post-Prom Party Killing

Unfortunately, Berlyn Cosman was not the only high school senior recently to have been shot and killed just before graduation (“Students Face Up to Prom Tragedy,” Metro, June 4). On May 27, Renardo Witherspoon, a senior at Compton High School, was also shot and killed.

In covering these tragedies, how unusual that The Times chose to run front-page (Metro) articles on Cosman’s death, while never mentioning Witherspoon’s. Should we attribute the difference to race? (Cosman was white, Witherspoon was black.) Or is it simply that such incidents seem to have become commonplace in areas like Compton, where Witherspoon lived?

We need to understand that for those involved, the pain these incidents cause is in no way diminished by their frequency. Every time a young person dies violently, no matter what part of town he or she is from, it is a tragedy. Every time America’s future is gunned down, it should be front-page news. Only when we are forced to confront our problems will we be moved to solve them.

JERRY HAUSER

Teacher, Compton High