Students can't be expected to be done with all of their homework within an hour. For many students, in addition to regular assignments, there's work to do for other activities, like speech, debate, newspaper, yearbook, etc.

I'm disappointed that the school has undervalued the importance of the library because of the decreasing number of students that are inclined to spend time in it. The option should be there because it'll encourage students to go to the library more and discourage idleness.

There are students, like myself, who don't have the option of going home right after school. There are other after-school activities that are properly funded (drama, sports, etc.). But what's odd is that the library, the core of basic academics, closes long before these activities end. This raises the question of where scholastic priorities lie.

This isn't just the whining of a single freshman. State Proposition 49 in this year's election sponsors state grants to public schools' before- and after-school programs for the 2004­05 year. This includes facilities like the library!

This is a weighty issue, and it involves the general attitude of schools toward basic academics. It shouldn't be overlooked.

—Michelle Haq, Grade Nine, Saratoga High


Blame misplaced in Sarlo's letter

In your Oct. 30 issue, Joan Sarlo, a faculty member at West Valley College, seeks to blame the city of Saratoga for legal expenses actually caused by the West Valley­Mission Community College District. The fact is, the district's Resolution 9609191 (as amended and restated) expressed the intention of the district to render inapplicable "all existing municipal or county zoning ordinances or codes and any permits or petitions arising therefrom made by the City of Saratoga or the County of Santa Clara."

The district's resolution set in motion a process of review by the county Superior Court (in accordance with Government Code 53094) to determine whether the district's action was arbitrary and capricious. I suggest Ms. Sarlo obtain a copy of the excellent report on the history of the West Valley College use permit and related litigation that was prepared for the Feb. 6 Saratoga City Council meeting.

—James E. Burke, Angus Court


Halloween—setting the record straight

In her letter published in the Saratoga News on Nov. 6, Fay Knight tells us that she had never heard of Halloween being celebrated in Britain. However, I grew up in 1930s London with a strong family tradition of the Celtic observation of Halloween. My parents gave a party each year, complete with orange and black decorations, and they and their guests played charades and had lots of fun dressing up.

We were also invited to a children's party given by Scottish friends. We played all the traditional apple games, had a bonfire outside (weather permitting) and looked forward to it immensely. We carved turnip lanterns—pumpkins not being common there—and told ghost stories.

In the northern parts of England, "Mischief Night" rather than All Hallows' Eve was celebrated, and then Guy Fawkes night came on Nov. 5 with more bonfires and fireworks. The end of October and beginning of November was the old Celtic New Year, with its accompanying festivities. New fires were kindled and customary rites followed to drive away malignant spirits and keep the home safe for the coming year.

These celebrations date back to pre-Christian days, thought to be tied to the herdsmen's rather than the farmers' calendars, with the other big fire festival on May 1 still an important date in many European countries.

America's trick-or-treat tradition has evolved from settlers' happy childhood memories of the occasion and other ancient observations for the dead.

The acts of cruelty and vandalism to which Ms. Knight refers are, alas, happening throughout the year and are not a traditional part of Halloween.

—Ursula Millett, El Quito Way