I was so proud to see 18-year-old Nori Hilton’s letter to the editor arguing against the use of SAT’s in college admissions.

She made a clear and concise case for why she thought the tests were discriminatory. Certainly an argument that has been made many times before.

I then saw the online comments about her letter and was so distressed by the uncivil responses. It would have been fine if someone said, “Actually, I think they are a valuable metric, and here’s why …” Or even, “I don’t think they are discriminatory and here’s why ….”

Instead, there were ad hominem and rude attacks, including suggestions that she wrote the letter because her own scores were low.

I wanted to let readers know that Nori (not one to brag) graduated summa cum laude from Casco Bay High School and chose to challenge herself with a semester at Freeport’s Coastal School for Girls. She is one of the smartest young women I know, and I say this as a professor at an elite college (Colby) and a graduate of another elite college (Yale).

So I am well aware of the benefits of such an education and why she wants to argue cogently that access to such schools be open to people of all demographics.

She was not arguing on her own behalf – she is headed to Bennington College in the fall and easily won admission to most of the schools to which she applied.

She is concerned about social justice and arguing on the behalf of others. How distressing that such a noble goal was met with so many ugly responses.

Debra Spark

North Yarmouth