Long Live MTA

To the Editor:

As a parent of a student currently at Central, I find it appalling that YU should even be considering the closure of any of its high schools. As a teacher, and one who is somewhat familiar with the current educational industry, I can say that there are very few schools within the New York area that offer the high academic standards of the YUHS system.

Given the realistic world we live in, there really are little choices for a parent to choose from in a quality high school. The so called "black-hat" schools do little to prepare their students for life after high school. Their emphasis is on learning Torah. While admirable, they do little to provide a solid bases for survival in the real world. The "co-ed" high schools, on the other hand, are interested in the "bottom line" rather than the hashkafa of their students. It is quite common that many students are not from shomer shabbat homes.

Only the YUHS offer the best of both worlds - academic excellence combined with Torah. What more can a parent ask for? Indeed, it has been this formula of success that has allowed YU to offer these programs for the past 85 years.

Instead of being ashamed of this "money loser," YU should hold it up with pride and proclaim its greatness. The very fact that YU, B"H, has the ability to underwrite these institutions and offer scholarships and grants to prospective students should be applauded and encouraged. After all, aren't our students the future of K'lal Yisrael?

May the YUHS continue for another 85 years.

Ephraim Klein
Cedarhurst, NY

To the Editor:

I am not a MTA graduate, but I believe that YU has made a mistake of immense proportions if it has decided to close down MTA. The exposure of MTA talmidim to the main beis medrash and the Gedolim who davened and gave their shiurim there, and to the current Roshei Yeshiva, cannot be minimized solely because YU deems the high schools to be expendable. No other Yeshiva would divest itself of its own mesivta. YU should continue improving MTA, and ask itself why its own alumni are so ambivalent about their children attending its schools.

Steven Brizel
YC, JSS ‘76