In the past few issues I have read a great deal about online education ("Online master's degree in homeland security an educational waste," Sept. 21).

While I have no doubt that one can adequately learn textbook material from an Internet course, these courses are inherently inferior to those taught in the classroom. My education isn't only about rote memorization of what I have read; it is discussion and argument with my peers. It is going abroad to experience new cultures and ideas. A first class university education is about so much more than what someone can accomplish in front of a computer screen.

I think it is deplorable for our administration at this university to denigrate my degree by offering a sub-par alternative.