An Oct. 16 letter alleges that President Barack Obama received special preference for admission to Columbia University and Harvard Law School and had mediocre academic performances .

I don't know how the author obtained unreleased, confidential academic records to substantiate her inaccurate statements, but it is public record that Obama was selected (based on competitive performance) for the Harvard Law Review and was elected president by his peers.

My college roommate, a Harvard Law graduate, informed me that dummies need not apply for Harvard Law Review, recognized as the top academic honor by the legal profession. Among distinguished former members are Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, John Roberts and Anthony Scalia.

Renowned Harvard law Professor Lawrence Tribe stated that during his long tenure Barack Obama was the brightest law student he encountered. That includes several of the aforementioned justices.

That's pretty weighty evidence as opposed to inaccurate biased innuendo.

It's true that affirmative action is sometimes applied to applicants to the Harvard business and law schools. It wasn't on the basis of stellar academic performance that a self-acknowledged mediocre Yale graduate and recent president was admitted to Harvard Business School. His paternal and maternal ancestors were members of prominent 17th-century New England families with considerable financial and political eminence. Surely, that had nothing to do with it.

Several Harvard Law School graduates live here, including at least one who made the Law Review. Ask them if you doubt the facts. Names provided on request.

Karl Engelman

Hilton Head Island