Hunger Strike

Re “4 Students End Hunger Strike, Claim Victory,” Nov. 2:

I can’t help but think how the four people staging a hunger strike at UC Irvine in favor of affirmative action could have better spent their time.

I work in a public high school with the very students that the hunger strikers would like to see admitted to the UC under affirmative action. Many of our kids could really benefit from some tutoring by college-level students.

Over 15 days, the four strikers spent a total of 1,440 hours in their demonstration. Let’s deduct eight hours a day each for sleep. That leaves 960 hours of available time. Each striker could have donated that time to tutoring minority high school students. Each striker could work with four students, two hours a week per student, for 30 weeks (a school year is 36 weeks). Sixteen students would have been well-served with this help and might have been able to enter the UC system without the help of affirmative action!

The demonstrators for affirmative action do draw attention to a problem that needs addressing, but perhaps they need to quit expecting someone else to address it. Perhaps they could address the situation more directly with a little affirmative and positive action of their own in an area where it will really do some good. Just have them contact any local high school.

KAREN PEARMAN

Counselor, Downey High School