College admissions scandal

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Part of me is amused, the other part, slightly annoyed. Most of us have known for YEARS that many wealthy people have used their money to get their kids into prestigious colleges or universities. I'm amused because people seem so shocked. But I'm annoyed by the LEVEL of deception involved here. On the other hand, it's always entertaining when Hollywood types are put through the wringer. The Department of Justice really kicked ass here! 😆 And it's only just beginning...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-scheme-how-it-worked/index.html

The fallout from the alleged college admissions scam is just beginning
By Madeline Holcombe, CNN
Updated 9:22 AM EDT, Wed March 13, 2019

Stunning details continue to emerge in an alleged multi-million-dollar bribery plot that, just a day after exploding into public view, has exposed what federal prosecutors describe as a corrupt exchange of wealth, fame and influence for admissions to the nation's most elite universities.

Fifty people -- from Hollywood stars and top industry CEOs to college coaches and standardized test administrators -- stand accused of participating in a scheme to cheat on admissions tests and admit to students to leading institutions as athletes regardless of their abilities, prosecutors revealed Tuesday in a federal indictment. The scandal is being called the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I wouldn't want my spawn to go to a prestigious college. So no.

 

[Bluebird]

I'm amused that there is such a thing as prestigious colleges. Scotland has some of the most renowned universities in the world and all a no class and no money tramp like me needs to enter is good grades.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

...all a no class and no money tramp like me needs to enter is good grades.

I refuse to believe that you have no money.

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

This is what privatised education leads to.

 

[brinkster130]

No, I wouldn't pay for fake test scores, or spots on an athletic team when my kid didn't play the sport. That's just blatant cheating. And I'd be worried that my kid couldn't handle it once they got there, I wonder how many of these kids actually kept up with the school work.

I'd certainly use my money to give my kid every legal advantage possible though. That's what's most annoying about this, these assholes had SO many legal options to help their kids but still chose to do it illegally and at the expense of others.

I agree with you ABS, the internet was very very amusing yesterday. And I'm still laughing that Aunt Becky paid 500k to get her kids into USC. USC! lolol

 

[Nix]

Abbs can work for it! Although, if she was one grade away due to some kind of traumatic event, I could be tempted.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

I agree with you ABS, the internet was very very amusing yesterday. And I'm still laughing that Aunt Becky paid 500k to get her kids into USC. USC! lolol

Especially when one of her daughters went live on Instagram last summer, saying she didn't CARE about school! Yeah, that looks really good now. 😅

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Athletic scholarships should be banned. How much education do you need to throw a ball, block a kick or put a puck in a net or any of the other athletic endeavours? Sports has nothing to do with education. So one of the parents tried to get her girl an athletic scholarship for rowing when she didn't know which end of a paddle to pick up? Looks good on them. I know sports programs are a cash cow for universities and maybe this is an issue that ought to be addressed.

Honorary degrees ought to be banned. My alma mater, the University of Toronto gave an honorary doctorate to George H W Bush. The next time the finance committee called me asking for donations, I unloaded my wrath on them and they never called me again. Offering an honorary degree should result in automatic disaccreditation.

It is true that the wealthy have managed to buy the way in for their children. But cheating of this or any sort should not be allowed.

We need a few convictions here with long sentences for both the parents and the administrators.

 

[AshSlays]

scoff
I'm a firm believer that all education should be equal and also shouldn't be to where it costs thousands of dollars just to get a job in the world. That said, I do realize it can't always be like that. The world is pretty messed up.

I also hate when rich people use their money to get kids anything, but especially something like getting in a college they are obviously not suited for. Sports scholarships are especially dumb. You shouldn't be able to go to college for free just because you have natural athletic talent and also little to no actually academic ability. Seriously, use the money to give scholarships to people who can actually do stuff in the world apart from do idiotic screaming.

 

[brinkster130]

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

It's pretty crazy!

And some still think affirmative action is the real problem...

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Here's a thought USA gives out sports scholarships to students who couldn't get into college based on their educational prowess, then it busts them for taking drugs to make themselves go faster, higher et cetera though normally its called cheating. Who is to blame, them or the educational college and their folks that said it is okay to cheat?
And buying a place in college, that isn't cheating is it? Sounds like some rich folk are okay with cheating, they teach their young adults how not to behave then them young adults can do the same to their off-spring. Hope the future is the future

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Some people have questioned why there is any cause for criminal charges for a transaction, however odious it may be, between an individual corporation and a customer. After all, if I offer to sell an item to someone, I can name my price and the prospective customer either agrees or walks away, subject to the Robinson - Patman Act that makes it illegal to offer an item of a given quantity at a different price to different customers (which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission).

The legal basis for the criminal charge is that non-profit organizations were set up to launder the money used for bribes. Where the law came in is that donations were then being deducted as charitable donations for their taxes. If this was done for an organization in a different state, then this became a federal crime and the FBI had lead jurisdiction rather than the IRS as you might think. If they didn't claim for charitable donations, the law will not touch them. But here, you have tax fraud, tax evasion, mail fraud and conspiracy and none of this will go away. The coaches who were being bribed charged the non-profit a consulting fee, which was the bribe. The FBI ran into this problem in the course of another investigation which is why they are taking the lead rather than the IRS.

 

[HowiMetdaSlayer]

Don't know the specifics of Huffman's case, but in (from what I've read) Loughlin's case they got 'scholarships' to row crew even though they don't row. I don't see much difference between that and some wealthy parents 'donating' money to school program/building so that their children get in. If anything, it's just stupid/silly to do it as a scholarship or anything that can be checked. 🙄

 

[November]

I thought this was common knowledge?

I learned from Netflix that you can gain a scholarship for universities in the US if you play or dance in a marching band (who's choice of music was primary school band level, and final performance no better than our cheap high school rock eisteddfods). I was pretty surprised, it appears more like another level of high school over a higher learning institute. I HOPE not all are like that. Sport at least, requires a little more discipline and talent than a marching band, and is more entertaining. I can only imagine the money produced by ticketed school sporting events.

Australia is following the US lead, as it does in most things. Uni now is not the same as when I first went, which was not the same as when my sister went a decade earlier. Now it is just a continuation of very passable classes in order to gain access to the real education, which doesn't come til you've got a degree under your belt, a bit of cash in the bank and the drive and resources to continue higher learning. The glaring difference here, is that the rich pay at high school level instead of university level. Anyone can get good grades when surrounded by others who are all getting good grades. I recently started online study, (not uni but with uni graduates who couldn't find work with their degrees) and now I understand why some people never leave school! Its like having someone hold your hand all day and lead you all the way. There is so much encouragement for basic tasks and the structure and pace is relaxing. It makes life so EASY! I'll starve over winter again but it is comforting to have that class community.

I'm amused that there is such a thing as prestigious colleges. Scotland has some of the most renowned universities in the world and all a no class and no money tramp like me needs to enter is good grades.

Same here, uni entrance depends solely on grades (although ours are a little less prestigious). Money feeds ya but it wont gain you straight entry. The richest dumbos still have to go through Tafe college/trade school if they've failed high school entrance exams to get into uni. Typically a student cannot support themselves though excess years of study, so it only works for those who have mum and dad to pay their way. I was bummed I didn't find out til over a decade after I finished my tertiary entrance exams that I DID score high enough for the top universities here. I didn't even bother to apply cos everyone told me I was too ditzy (cos I speak wrong 😉 ). I was looking at some of the MOOC coming out of Scotland. Now I know how simple structured learning is, I might see how to gain access to them in a povo state.

The rich don't really need the education - that is what their money is for, why bother knowing anything if you can just pay someone else to know it for you? They'd have no use for their education if they don't have to actually work in the world. Its just a name on a list to make them look good so when their parents pass on they can find boards and committees to be on to keep their wealth and status.

Oh my washing machine is done, time to stop the rambles and hang it out. I guess these are the sorts of things that prestigious US uni kids don't have to learn lol.

 

[brinkster130]

Don't know the specifics of Huffman's case, but in (from what I've read) Loughlin's case they got 'scholarships' to row crew even though they don't row. I don't see much difference between that and some wealthy parents 'donating' money to school program/building so that their children get in. If anything, it's just stupid/silly to do it as a scholarship or anything that can be checked. 🙄

Huffman paid 15k to have her daughter's SAT results changed by the proctor. Loughlin paid 500k to have the crew coach tell admissions that he really wanted her daughter's admitted to the school as he wanted them on his team. Clearly the coach didn't expect the girls to actually show up and be apart of the team, he just used he sway as a coach to get them admitted and gave up spots on his team that year. Everyone in this scandal paid a fake non-profit so clearly taxes weren't being paid on the money...and it ends up in one guys pocket. All seem to have participated in fraudulent documents being made and submitted to schools.

Legacy admissions (mommy and daddy making big donations) is legal. The money is exchanged publicly, is taxed, and it's reported how it is spent. The argument for it being legal is that the college's use the money in ways that benefit the entire student population directly, it's not just money going into one person's pocket.

Both are technically ways of buying your way in, but one is blatant cheating and illegal and the other is shitty but allowed according to the law. For the record I think legacy admissions should be illegal, but I do think what these parents have been caught doing is worse.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Lori's daughter, Olivia Jade, was on the yacht of USC's chairman of the board of trustees (Rick Caruso) when the indictments came down. Enjoying a spring break cruise in the Bahamas. Obviously, that looks really, really bad.

Apparently, this is only the top of the iceberg. The investigation is ongoing and more names are to be made public. I'm really enjoying this, by the way. 😅

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I don't care at all about people bribing their kids into good schools. If it were only that this whole witch-hunt would be laughable and just that - a witch hunt. But the cheating on SAT scores combine with everything else is bad. Granted, I know a few people who have cheated on their SAT scores to get into better schools so it's been going on for decades. I don't understand why people are so shocked and appalled. In my opinion it's only made such headlines because they are famous, rich, white folk.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Maybe you should need a photo ID to write a SAT test and the photo could be copied and added to the test so if the person who showed up did not look like the person who took the test, alarms would ring out and someone would be denied access. But where there's a buck to be made...