NEWSPAPER READERS have some expressive ways of conveying their opinions. I was reminded of that Sunday when e-mails started pouring in after I'd written in my column that UC students should put away their protest signs and deal with tuition increases made necessary by state budget cuts.

One correspondent didn't even need to write a line of text. He said it all in the subject line: Turdface.

It seemed a harsh way to describe college students, but clearly he was backing my stance.

Another reader began his message with "Your column of Nov. 30 is truly idiotic." The message was sent Nov. 29 — my first e-mail from a fortuneteller.

When so many people take so much time to volunteer their viewpoints, they deserve to appear in print. Excerpts from some of the most fervent pen pals:

"You act as if there's nothing wrong with the UC system, and the students protesting are just spoiled brats, rather than recognizing this great, or formerly great, institution has been eviscerated by state policies, bloated UC bureaucracy, and God knows what else. The students are the canaries in this particular mine shaft because they're the most directly affected. The decline of the UC system is just a symptom of the disastrous management of the state. Get your head out of the sand."

That would explain all the seashells in my hair.

"I agree with you that students should pay a larger share of the cost

of their education, but I disagree with your reasoning. The idea that the state should only subsidize services that directly benefit the majority of residents flies in the face of budget reality. The more persuasive argument for tuition increases is that UC schools prior to this latest fee hike were less expensive than their peer public universities like Michigan."

In that case, we'll go with your argument.

"You missed the whole point. Tuition cost is a huge hurdle for most students. Education access through affordability and financial aid is important for equality and for the economic growth of our country on the global stage."

Take it up with the guy below.

"Great article on the UC admissions. It's a privilege, not a right. Can't afford it? Don't go. My son's tuition at De La Salle is higher than it is at UC Berkeley."

Sure, but the football's team better at De La Salle.

"Your column missed another side of the story. You describe the situation at Cal, Santa Cruz and Davis, but there is an opposite reaction at other campuses, particularly Cal Poly, where there not only have there been no protests but students voted by a 78-22 margin to raise their fees by an additional $200 per quarter. How do you get such divergent campus philosophies? In one case, a group of students decides that their education is a right and that others must make all of the sacrifices. In the other, the students understand that their education is a privilege and that they need to help with part of that burden."

Hey, go easy on the protesters. They're just canaries in a mine shaft.

"Great column on realities of the relative costs and benefits of attending the two most desirable campuses in the UC system. I suppose you will get some letters such as mine and others that say you are a troglodyte."

Or Turdface.

"Regarding your column, I am speechless! Thank you for addressing the issue so clearly and succinctly. I hope this column is cut out, enlarged, laminated and posted in every student activity center on every campus in the state."

I'll get right on that after I clean the sand from my ears.

Reach Tom Barnidge at tbarnidge@bayareanewsgroup.com.