Mara S. Deutch's article ("Rally of 600 protests for affirmative action" SN 5/26) about the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative protesters, while not containing her opinion, offers a biased view on affirmative action.

While affirmative action in undergraduate admissions does increase minority and female enrollment, it only serves to conceal a nationwide dilemma. Rather than only defend a temporary fix, these protesters should also, and more importantly, be advocating a response to the underlying problem - that there are severe deficits in many of our nation's public school systems, particularly in inner cities.

David Mulder
physiology senior