Good reasons for Cairo's feelings

To the editor:

In response to the story "Attracting minorities to SEMO": I didn't see the article about Lincoln Scott's comment concerning Cairo's keeping minorities from attending Southeast Missouri State University, but the response to it from Edna Rose was enough to evoke retort.

Having seen little but negative press, heard Cape Girardeau residents state they wouldn't be caught in Cairo, and once told that a particular business in Cape wasn't interested in Cairo patrons, I can hardly blame Cairo if its citizens choose to attend their own junior college and take advantage of in-state tuition rates at Illinois' universities.

Didn't Cape Girardeau's officials also work to get a highway leading to Paducah, Ky., which would bypass Cairo?

It hardly seems Cairo can be blamed if its residents choose universities in cities which are more amenable.

MARIAN F. STONE-WATSON, Baton Rouge, La.