In Tuesday's article, "UC plans to investigate admissions," they are investigating the wrong numbers. The real problem is not that 400 students with low SAT scores got into Berkeley. It was that 3,200 students with SAT scores above 1,400 were turned away in 2002. Actually lots more eligible students were turned away. What UC needs to investigate is how many eligible students get turned away, and what happens to them. They don't just drop off the face of the earth.

The California State University system needs to do the same thing. At CSU, the 20,000 students being turned away this fall are estimated to have reduced incomes of $10 billion dollars over their working lifetimes, if they go to a community college and get a meaningful career degree (if they can get in community colleges are downsizing, too).

California must find a way to accommodate all eligible students at the UC, CSU and community college level. Humanity aside, these young people are too valuable a resource to waste.

Gene Lucas, Chico