Regarding Sunday's editorial, "Fire Leckrone if hazing continues," has any editor ever been in charge of 315 (mostly male) 18- to 26-year-old college students for a three-day road trip, or a semester?

Has the State Journal ever called for booting "Big Barry" or any of his predecessors for all the football felonies?

The one person who applied the heart paddles by shocking the band, university and fans with his unprecedented canceling of a football band performance to stop the poor behavior by a few by punishing all the band members was -- Mike Leckrone.

It takes time to tune up the male-dominated "prove yourself" culture, find the "perps" and expel the incorrigibles in a fair manner.

Keep in mind that foolish, politically incorrect boorishness by a few dunderheads is not on the level of a felony. No one has been raped, robbed or beaten, which occurs all too regularly in the athletic arena.

Leckrone has had a lifelong positive impact on thousands of young men and women in his band, as well as on fans, with his "On Wisconsin" attitude. He will handle this fairly and professionally just as he has in the past.

Fire Leckrone? You're out of step.

-- William Richardson, emeritus professor of music, UW-Madison

Standards differ for band, football team

Really? We should fire Mike Leckrone in the event band members participate in asinine, disgusting and degrading behavior off the field?

We tolerate it of Bret Bielema. We accept driving under the influence, misdemeanor assault and felony burglary convictions of Bielema's players.

As a parent of a band member, I am proud of these young adults who are held to a standard of behavior several orders of magnitude greater than the standard we set for the football players.

Would that a Saturday game day could witness the suspension of the football team due to a criminal act perpetrated by a member of the football team.

-- Ashley Nedeau-Owen, Lodi

U.S.-trained doctors face high standards

I challenge the proposal of a recent writer who wants the state of Wisconsin to make it easier for foreign-trained doctors to practice here. He claimed that "doctors educated in other countries are just as competent as those educated here" without validating it with any statistics or studies.

He called state licensing requirements onerous because they "prevent many who are here from using their medical skills, resulting in a waste of talent and a disservice to the public." I call it protecting the safety and health of the residents of our state.

It is true that many, but not all, doctors trained in foreign countries are as competent and skilled as those trained in America. It is also true that many American want-to-be doctors go to foreign countries for their degrees because they did not meet the high admission standards of U.S. medical schools.

During the course of my nearly 40-year career I have encountered a number of foreign-trained doctors whom I would be uncomfortable with if they were treating friends or family.

If our licensing boards lower their standards, many may regret it. There is a reason why people, who can afford it, come from all over the world to get some of their medical care here.

-- Dr. Ernie Pellegrino Jr., Middleton

For economy's sake, keep investing

In a capitalist society the most important thing to keep the economy strong is faith. When you put your faith in the stock market, it becomes a well-oiled machine. When you don't, it loses its total worth.

The best example is the old movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." It is one of the greatest examples of American capitalism. What are we afraid of? Who is trying to make us afraid, and what is their personal motive? Why can't we see what is really going on in our economy?

Maybe we need to be willing to help our fellow men to save ourselves, and more than anything we need to have faith. That means sticking by your investments and making it work no matter what. Not just holding your investments, but investing more -- that is what faith is, the kind of faith that makes everyone money.

Forget about Chicken Little yelling that the sky is falling and do what it takes to make our nation's economy strong.

-- William M. Raymond, Madison

Mainstreaming was not the right answer

In the 1970s the state of Wisconsin decided it was no longer their responsibility to care for their mentally challenged citizens. They emptied the homes and sent those souls back to the counties.

Some counties responded, but some did not. The result is what we see today in the homeless population.

I am not speaking of the unfortunate people trapped in an economic bubble, unable to make enough money to live in Madison. (Madison requires a bit more income for living expenses than, shall we say, Ridgeland.) The majority of homeless are mentally challenged and need structured direction or institutional care.

If those people were put back in state care, our local charities might be able to take care of the economically challenged.

This reminds me of stories of the 1800s by Charles Dickens, with people living under bridges and in alleys, begging for money and so on. Were there these kind of people in our country before the closing of the institutions for the mentally challenged?

-- Roland C. Beiswanger, Madison