College cheating scandal and celebrities!

[autumngems]

I am sure you have all seen the scandal about Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman and the others. What are your thoughts?

I am disgusted, and that's putting it mildly. First of all, if your kid can't make it without cheating, your kid can't make it. Now you have taken a spot for someone else who could have benefited from that spot. The kids knew because they posed for the fake photos. I am beyond words......so much for the good values, you have no moral compass!

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainme...ughters-is-not-their-friend-in-2016-interview

 

[missy]

Sadly it does not surprise me. Celebs are not better or worse than the average person but have more money and power so some feel the rules don't apply to them. Many of them are hypocrites. Appearing to be all for helping others less fortunate etc but as in this example some will do whatever necessary to make things go their way without any thought to/for others or to right or wrong. They are the center of the universe and rules do not apply to them.

 

[missy]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admission-cheating-scheme/index.html

"For every student admitted through fraud, an honest, genuinely talented student was rejected."

 

[autumngems]

Missy,
That is what makes me so mad^

 

[violet3]

This is insane.....just nuts. I am a professor at a University, and I cannot believe that someone's parents would do this. I also find it very hard to believe that you have to go to THOSE lengths to get your kid into a good school, if you have that kind of money.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I'm glad they caught them, the really ironic thing is the parents did this to give their kids an opportunity but now the kids are being trolled and mocked and this will follow them for a very long time.

Basically resulting in the opposite outcome for what they wanted for their kids, parental fail at its finest.

 

[doberman]

Gee, the wealthy and well known are taking advantage of a system and buying their way in. I'm shocked!

John F. Kennedy
George W. Bush
Jared Kushner

The list goes on and on and on. This is absolutely nothing new.

 

[autumngems]

All this and Lori's daughter on YouTube last year saying she doesn't care about school and just wants to party.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

All this and Lori's daughter on YouTube last year saying she doesn't care about school and just wants to party.

I have a feeling she won't be there much longer!

It's really sad. What a terrible example for those kids! I understand that big donors to universities and alumni children may be shown favor just as some unqualified candidates who are of certain other groups unrelated to wealth are given favor, but committing felonies to get your kids in school is a pretty desperate measure. I'd add Elizabeth Warren to this kind of fraud IF she "identified" herself as a race she is not on any college or grad school applications, scholarships, etc.

 

[Matata]

committing felonies to get your kids in school is a pretty desperate measure

This. And I'd like to see jail time for guilty parents, their children expelled from school, and degrees revoked for kids who were fraudulently admitted and have since graduated.

 

[House Cat]

This. And I'd like to see jail time for guilty parents, their children expelled from school, and degrees revoked for kids who were fraudulently admitted and have since graduated.

This, but I doubt it will ever happen..sigh

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I hope the kids that got in this way are dismissed from those schools. You can't keep the fruits of a fraud.
Annette

 

[HappyNewLife]

Hi,

I hope the kids that got in this way are dismissed from those schools. You can't keep the fruits of a fraud.
Annette

good point. there hasn't been any info in the news whether the kids get to stay in their enrolled colleges

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would think the parents would have to be found guilty in court first. So if I were one of those kids, I'd be hoping I can finish the semester and be prepared to leave.

 

[junebug17]

This is just terrible...sad, depressing, discouraging...why in the world would these people do this, I can't wrap my mind around it...committing felonies to get your child into college. And all the other professionals who were involved in this...I'm just flabbergasted by the whole thing.

 

[violet3]

This is just terrible...sad, depressing, discouraging...why in the world would these people do this, I can't wrap my mind around it...committing felonies to get your child into college. And all the other professionals who were involved in this...I'm just flabbergasted by the whole thing.

This. It just seems truly insane, doesn't it? People with that kind of money could donate funds and get their kids in without breaking the law, unethical though it may be. The idea of fabricating information/test scores and getting other professionals to corroborate this seems legitimately NUTS. I am someone who TRULY believes in kids getting a good college education, but it's not worth THAT kind of insanity.

I can't wait to discuss this with my students next week! I teach a media class, and I'm sure they'll have opinions on the media coverage of this.

 

[lyra]

Such a major fail in parenting. How awful for some of the kids, who might have been innocent in this. Either way, their lives are changed for the worse now. What a shame for these young people. It would have been better if they just hadn't got in if they couldn't do it on their own. These wealthy parents can look after them now I guess. There will be no choices.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I can't say I am surprised. What a horrible example to set for your kids. I think the biggest part of the blame goes to the guy who told them he could do this for them. If the people at the schools didn't allow this to happen it would be a dead issue. I am sure this has been happening for many many years and in other ways besides this. 20 years in jail seems like an overly stiff penalty. Murderers don't even get that kind of time. I wonder how many of the kids that got in this way even graduated. If you didn't do well in high school chances are your not going to do well in college. There are exceptions to this rule, but not a whole lot. My SIL works in the admissions office of USC. Her own kids get in because she works there, and my BIL graduated from there but they have to meet pretty high standards even then. I know, she had no idea this was happening.

 

[GlitterInMyHair]

Hi,

I hope the kids that got in this way are dismissed from those schools. You can't keep the fruits of a fraud.
Annette

I feel like even if the kids are not dismissed, their future diplomas would be worthless with the scandal now public.

Edited to add: the kids probably would rather be an influencer on social media ala Kylie Jenner than holding down a job that would require a college degree anyway, lol.

 

[ksinger]

Such a major fail in parenting. How awful for some of the kids, who might have been innocent in this. Either way, their lives are changed for the worse now. What a shame for these young people. It would have been better if they just hadn't got in if they couldn't do it on their own. These wealthy parents can look after them now I guess. There will be no choices.

Except for the part that it sounds like the guy who was doing this, was faking SAT scores. I read that one girl's SAT score went up 400 points from her PSAT score a year before.

I think it would be difficult, if you were an honest person, to think that you were capable of that level of jump in one year. And to be given a "scholarship" in a sport that you didn't play competitively, that would be hard to miss too. No, my take is that the fruit generally doesn't fall far from the tree, sad to say. Of course if any of them were ignorant, it's going to do massive damage to their relationships with their parents. Having the FBI march in and cuff mom or dad or both, is a particularly brutal way of finding out your parents have feet of clay in a big way, and didn't walk the walk. One of those scales falling from the eyes moments.

ETA - Oh, like several here, this situation is not shocking. The only thing that is "shocking" is that we know these people. More anonymous rich people have been buying their kids spots in the best schools, for a very long time. I mean does anyone seriously believe the W had the mental heft and actual scores to get into Yale without Daddy and his connections?

 

[lambskin]

...nothing new...they just got caught...

 

[MakingTheGrade]

...nothing new...they just got caught...

The getting caught and possibility of actual jail time would be the new part. I guess better late than never?

I went to a top 15 college, we all knew who the “legacy”/“my dad bought me spot” kids were in the class. Even if we didn’t know the specific bribe that got them in.

Relieved to say medical school didn’t seem to have many of those. Sure legacy kids probably had a slight advantage maybe, but nobody was blatantly incompetent.

 

[KristyDarling]

I just read about the various tactics these people used and I am FLOORED. I just cannot relate to the worldview that people who do this kind of thing must have. Like, how WARPED and @ssholey must they be?? Their doucheyness is off the charts!!

And what a fine example they're setting for their children. Their kids are learning that rules don't apply to them, cheating is good, true substance and hard work don't matter, and every man for himself at all costs. I know this kind of thing probably happens all the time and they just got caught, but man, how depressing.

Also the pragmatist in me is wondering...WHY would they do something as risky as this when they could've easily done the "normal" thing and donated big money or a building to get their kid in? (which is still loathesome in my book because it's another example of how the system is rigged for wealthy people) The only thing I can think of is that it might have been a little cheaper to go this route than to shell out the big bucks...?? Who knows though -- there is no deciphering the twistedness of these people's minds.

 

[Elizabeth35]

This is a new play on what has gone on for years. Although in the past it was parents giving chairs, endowments, halls, etc. to get their sub-par student in. I know people who have done this. But it was done with the university getting the money and not coaches personally taking bribes.

While the parents are clearly at fault---I think the FBI investigation should be focusing on those coaches that were taking bribes as well as the SAT proctors who were involved. From what I have read, coaches took huge sums of $$ over many years.
That is a real stain on the universities involved. The universities should be firing anyone involved and setting into place new processes for recruited athletes to validate their credentials. And with all due respect, coaches should not have that type of admissions power.
SAT should also be firing people and reviewing procedures to prevent this from happening in the future. I would imagine that eventually SAT/ACT testing will require finger printing or retinal scan type identification.

 

[VRBeauty]

I think only those kids who are found to have been complicit should be punished, and it’s not clear yet whether that’s true of all of them. Those who were unaware are basically innocent victims and should be allowed to continue, and judged by the same standards as other students imho. As others have pointed out, this taint will attach to each of these kids no matter what... and whether they knew their parents were doing this “for” them or not.

 

[telephone89]

Lori Loughlin's daughter will likely lose brand deals/endorsements with her sponsors. She's already been cut from HP.

https://variety.com/2019/digital/ne...llege-scam-influencer-brand-deals-1203162624/

 

[LinSF]

This is nothing new, its been going on forever with the old money, wealthy families who have large endowments to contribute to universities. Its one thing to let the kid in because Mommy/Daddy donated, and the school knows full well that the kid is a dunce. It's quite another to falsify records, and some the charges are mail fraud and money laundering... FEDERAL crimes for which there are harsh consequences.

That said, I'm enjoying this immensely. Not only are some of the charges interesting from a professional standpoint, but I was really surprised that I happen to know a couple of those who have been indicted. Let's just say I'm holding my bag of popcorn.

 

[violet3]

I just read about the various tactics these people used and I am FLOORED. I just cannot relate to the worldview that people who do this kind of thing must have. Like, how WARPED and @ssholey must they be?? Their doucheyness is off the charts!!

And what a fine example they're setting for their children. Their kids are learning that rules don't apply to them, cheating is good, true substance and hard work don't matter, and every man for himself at all costs. I know this kind of thing probably happens all the time and they just got caught, but man, how depressing.

Also the pragmatist in me is wondering...WHY would they do something as risky as this when they could've easily done the "normal" thing and donated big money or a building to get their kid in? (which is still loathesome in my book because it's another example of how the system is rigged for wealthy people) The only thing I can think of is that it might have been a little cheaper to go this route than to shell out the big bucks...?? Who knows though -- there is no deciphering the twistedness of these people's minds.

This was my thought as well. Just gift a building and get your kid in. The stuff THESE people did seems insane.

 

[sarahb]

Let us not forget the money aka 'donations' these people paid (to cheat) were funneled through a fake 501c organization the ring leader set up. The fraudsters were then able to deduct these 'donations' on their tax returns. You & I essentially then subsidized that particular deduction. Incredible....

 

[whitewave]

I wonder how bad it will get for them with charges etc.