Your Views for May 10

‘Gap year’ not unusual

Jay Tomokiyo’s May 7 letter to the editor accusing Malia Obama of receiving special treatment from Harvard University regarding her decision to take deferred admission is off base.

On its admissions and financial aid web page, under the heading, “Considering a Gap Year,” Harvard “encourages admitted students to defer enrollment for one year” to spend time in a meaningful way (e.g., volunteer work, travel).

Harvard also allows two-year deferrals for admitted students finishing their obligatory military service. The section goes on to say that between 80 and 110 students take a gap year before matriculation.

Among all U.S. colleges and universities, it’s estimated that in 2015 more than 5 percent of accepted applicants took a gap year (almost 29,000 accepted applicants).

So, no special treatment, no political correctness, just a smart and talented young woman taking advantage of an opportunity broadly available to all.

What’s your beef with that, Tomokiyo?

Ed Comstock

Hilo

Register to vote

Are you registered to vote? The primary election is coming Aug. 13. It is not necessary to wait until you see a convenient place to register to vote.

You can go to https://olvr.hawaii.gov/ and register right now. If you changed your name or address, please re-register. You also can use this method to ask for a permanent absentee ballot, which is equivalent to voting by mail.

Margaret Drake

Volcano

Change tax structure

It is inevitable that the general excise tax rate will go up sooner or later.

Higher GE tax rates are an especially egregious burden on the poor. In many states, this burden is addressed by making some products, such as food and medicine, nontaxable.

It would make a lot of sense for Hawaii to adopt this idea for our tax structure. In a state where groceries are so expensive, it is especially wrong to tax food because of the negative impact it has on all of us, especially the less fortunate.

Laura Buck

Keaau