More (not so) fun facts:
54% of American adults read below a 6th grade level.
21% read below a 5th grade level, which is considered functionally illiterate.
High immigration numbers don't fully explain it either, as first gen immigrants only make up about 1/3 of those with low literacy.
because you can't force people to be something they can't or dont' want to be.
The education system cannot rescue people from themselves. You can't rise them up from the top down.
They have to want to improve themselves.
That's something I'd expect to hear in defense of someone who doesn't want to choose a STEM/medicine/business career path, not in defense of not being able to read and understand a NEWSPAPER.
the newspaper doesn't benefit most people. it doesn't report the drama between their friends and family and neighbors.
Okay, well if they can't or don't want to be literate then college isn't the place for them. I don't know what's so hard about that for you to grasp.
You're basically saying that the track team should let anybody join, even if they can't walk a mile let alone run one in 6 minutes.
Having standards is not discrimination.