Duke University's plan to eliminate 8 a.m. classes after a study showed that most college students are only getting six to seven hours of sleep a night is a joke ("Duke eliminates 8 a.m. classes; Penn State will not," April 20). They are hoping this will encourage students to get a better night's rest. Right.

First off, does anyone have a clue why the students aren't getting the sleep they need? The article leaves that determination untouched. My thought is that the problem lies in that there are so many distractions and luxuries in the world today that kids are staying up, like most of us, to spend as much time doing something rather than nothing.

The fact is, delaying classes only does one thing: 9 a.m. will become 8 a.m. And then, where do we go? 10 a.m.? Noon? Aren't we supposed to be preparing our youth to go out in the world and become productive members of society?

I don't know about you, but I know more people who have to be at their desks by 7 a.m. than I do people who have the luxury of showing up at 9 a.m. in this day and age.

Let's face it, most kids might have an 8 a.m. class only two or three times a week -- wouldn't most adults love to keep such a schedule? Seven hours of sleep a night would be a gift to most working, family-raising adults. I think in many ways we are selling our students and ourselves short by not holding them up to tougher standards. People on the whole are resilient and will find ways to adapt when properly challenged. Some might think kids have it harder today than we did, but I don't buy that for a second.

How is delaying our expectation that kids be responsible and self- sufficient helping our students?