Letters for May 18, 2017

Essays touched her soul

Re “Teenage dreams” (Feature story, May 11):

Thank you, SN&R, for publishing these brilliant essays. I have never written to SN&R before, but now am compelled to say thank you to these individuals whose writing has touched my soul. Whatever these 10 individuals endeavor or aspire to be, I hope they will never forget they have a gift. The power of the pen can reach so many and change the world. Bless you all and keep writing. Show the world the power of yourself and your perspective. I now have renewed hope for our future.

Deana Shelton

Sacramento

Gut-wrenching? No way

Re “Teenage dreams” (Feature story, May 11):

Though I appreciate these essays, the opening to this section is absurd. I have taught for over 14 years with students of varying backgrounds and circumstances. In all that time, I can guarantee that 99.9 percent of students are unaffected by the “gut-wrenching news: Police brutality. Mass bombings in Syria. The rise to the White House of a man accused of sexual harassment and worse.”

Most teens do not suffer from any of those issues, and police brutality is a microscopic issue compared to what truly affects a huge proportion of teens: no fathers at home. If nothing else, it’s evident in the winning student’s essay as she writes about living with her mother.

Have you noticed how few of the winning essays are written by males? Perhaps you might look at another ignored issue in America: the failure of males to live up to their academic potential. In the most recent study of GPA at my school, I found that in all grade levels the girls outperformed the boys. On average, the top 100 GPAs were 68 percent female; on the other end, the bottom 100 GPAs were 64 percent male.

Let’s not overdramatize the “gut-wrenching news” these kids are supposedly facing. The essays are well written. No need to reduce their quality with such a maudlin and inaccurate preface to their works.

Last, what exactly is “brave” about entering an essay in a competition? They volunteered to do so and are receiving accolades in the form of publication and praise from the SN&R and no doubt their peers. False or inaccurate compliments are an insult to intelligent students.

Scott Trainor

Fairfield

‘Total fake news’

Re “It’s Obama’s fault,” by Bill Bixbe (Letters, May 11):

Bill Bixbe says the Medi-Cal federal subsidy “ends after a few years,” after which “Medi-Cal expansion rested solely on the state.” This is total fake news. Specifically, while the federal government pays 100 percent of the cost of Medicaid expansion for 2014 through 2016, that share falls to 95 percent in 2017, 94 percent in 2018, 93 percent in 2019 and levels off at 90 percent for 2020 and beyond.

Joseph Bruno

Carmichael