Cheaters Deserved Their Punishment

In response to the April 20 letter of John T. Chiu of Newport Beach, addressing the “cheating” scandal at Sunny Hills High School, I say “nonsense.”

As the parent of a Sunny Hills graduate, who earned high honors, was a four-year starter on the soccer team, an All-CIF player, donated 700-plus hours of community service, and who has gone on to similar success at Vanderbilt University, I say we should applaud professor Pat Lampman for his actions in disciplining the cheaters.

My daughter’s toughest course, yet to this day her most rewarding, was the one taught by professor Lampman. Her lament at the time was that there weren’t more like it. It made her think, it helped her become an individual.

Cheaters, whether individual or collective, should be publicly dishonored, particularly where their cheating vaults them ahead of others in class rank as well as entrance and scholarship eligibility at the college level.

As The Times correctly points out in its April 20 editorial, “Honor Roll,” one of the disturbing aspects of the situation was one student’s lament that he was concerned whether the incident would hurt his chances of admission at three prestigious colleges. I say, it should.

STEPHAN DESALES

Fullerton