UC From Inside

* Re “Looking Beyond the SAT,” editorial, Feb. 21: My spouse taught in the University of California system for 10 years. This year he is teaching at a university in another state. He is shocked at the high level of the “out of state” students compared to his UC students. Even though this college is in a depressed area and the student body is less middle class, they are far better educated than their middle-class UC counterparts. And to his joy, they are incredibly enthusiastic about learning.

Dedication and qualifications don’t seem to be considered for faculty hires in the UC systems. Faculty positions seem to exist exclusively to correct social ills. Having seen the UC system from the inside, we sent our own children out of state for college. So it’s no surprise that SATs would have no place in UC President Richard C. Atkinson’s mind-set.

G.E. FISHER

Burbank