ENGL 130 - Advocacy Letter

Doug Carroll

(address deleted)

9 April 2008

Mr. David Little, Editor

Chico Enterprise-Record
400 East Park Avenue
Chico, Ca 95928

Dear Editor:

Through a recent research project, I became aware of the specific problem that children in California don’t have enough computers in their classrooms. There is a local organization in Chico called Computers for Classrooms, founded by schoolteacher Pat Furr, which redistributes old donated computers to schools across California. CSU Chico had been participating by donating all phased out computers, but over time began destroying them instead. This needs to be stopped if we as Chicoans are to reach our goal of sustainability.

When I interviewed Pat Furr, I could see how much she cares about low-income school districts and families that simply cannot afford to have a computer for every student. This lack of technology creates a gap in the learning capabilities between these students and those who grow up in a more favorable environment. Pat wants everyone to have an even playing field, so she has devoted the past 17 years of her life to this program.

But this problem of CSU Chico no longer donating doesn’t make any sense. Why would they want to have their computers destroyed instead of saving all that energy and giving them straight to a needy school or family? There was no catalyst that caused them to stop; it may just be that they don’t want to put in the effort anymore to take the computers down to the Computers for Classrooms location in south Chico.

Pat Furr thinks it’s because people aren’t educated enough about this problem. They don’t know a lack of computers exists. She wants to have the university’s computer techs educated so that the computers no longer go to waste. Education on this subject is really the only way to help the problem go away, so please, help spread the word, and donate your computer instead of throwing it away whenever you purchase a new one.

Thank you,

Doug Carroll