Community Colleges
As a retired teacher in the Los Angeles Community College District, I read with interest the large headline, “Former Students Tell Why Community College Failed Them” (Nov. 24). One of the complaints was of particular note: “turned off by a dilapidated campus.”
Remember Proposition 143, the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act on the Nov. 6, 1990, ballot? It would have provided funds to improve the facilities of California’s public higher education institutions.
I brought this election (as all others) to the attention of my five classes of some 200 students (without advocacy). I also provided them with voter registration forms, as always. After the election (in which this proposition was defeated), I asked my students how many had actually voted. The stunning answer: not one. Many reasons given: too busy, not interested, my vote doesn’t matter. Cynicism with the system is basic.
To feature such a headline blaming the college is to give merit to what I believe is a failure of general participation in the electoral process. Giving 18-year-olds the right to vote has made little difference. The young simply don’t care, and I believe this is a serious problem I could not solve.
HERBERT B. LAMONT
Gardena
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