College-Bound Unwed Mother

Re “Latina Teen, an Unmarried Mother, Is MIT-Bound,” May 4:

Another unmarried Latina teen mother--think about the headline and the following paragraphs describing the father as a high school dropout, stalking her, with a restraining order.

When she attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nora Cadena will be breaking a pattern that would have been endemic for her and her daughter.

Had Cadena married the baby’s father, she would have been trapped in a caste and passed it on to her daughter. Cadena’s exceptional accomplishments need to be celebrated without the “unmarried mother” label.

AUDREY A. HUGGINS

Hollywood

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Am I the only one who doesn’t think it’s so grand that Cadena is headed to MIT with her tiny daughter? Cadena talks of her baby as if she were simply an embarrassment or an inconvenience and refers constantly to herself and what she wants. It’s unfortunate she got pregnant so young, but once she did this, her priorities should have changed. Chassitty needs her mother’s attention more than her mother needs to go to MIT; Nora could finish her education once her daughter is in school. And it’s offensive that the baby’s father is made out to be a villain for wanting to stay close to his child.

SUSAN AVALLON

Los Angeles