By Ameara Ditsche
Staff Writer
Earlier this month, it was revealed that around 50 people were involved in a college admissions scandal. This list included coaches, admissions officers, and parents. Some of the parents being high profile, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.
Lori Loughlin allegedly paid $500,000 to guarantee her two daughters spots at the University of Southern California. She bribed admissions officers, as well as crew coaches, to say her daughters were rowers, when in fact they had never participated in the sport.
This situation, while disgusting, does not come as a surprise. It has long been obvious that the system of higher education is skewed in favor of the rich. While the bulk of us have to work hard to qualify to go through the front door, the rich have a seperate entrance. It has already been proven that college admittance tests, like the SAT, are designed to be easier for wealthy people, so to have bribes to do even better displays a level of mediocrity that should disqualify someone from prestigious universities.
This is incredibly unfair to people who were actually qualified for those spots. This isn’t just white collar crime that is all money and big names, this impacted real people like you and I. If you know someone who was qualified and rejected from any of these institutions, hypothetically, these children of the wealthy could have taken their spot.
and to ensure we conduct ourselves with integrity and ethics consistent with our values,”
said USC’s Interm President, Wanda M. Austin.
While several schools are involved, the one that has found itself at the heart of the scandal is USC. Specifically with one student, Olivia Jade Giannulli, the daughter of Lori Loughlin. Olivia is a Youtube star who in a video spoke about her passiveness towards to academic side of college. She told her subscribers she is mainly going to college for the experience of things, like tailgating and parties. Just being able to think that way comes from an extreme place of privilege.
To pair that with a half a million dollar bribe, is a textbook example of class divide. Most people in college are working towards a degree to get a job and have better opportunities, especially poorer people and first generation college students.
For Olivia to say that and then have the road to highly sought after institution laid down in front of her, is a spit in the face to the people that spent years working for a spot in a class she is unrightfully taking up.
In many of the cases the students were unaware that their parents were paying their way into college. Not only is this a crime, but its a bad parenting move. These parents were basically saying to their children, “I don’t believe you can do this on your own.” These kids are probably well educated and talented in their own right. Their parents should have given them the opportunity to work for what they want, and support them regardless of how it went.
Five years ago in Connecticut, a woman by the name on Tonya McDowell lied about her address so her son could go to a better school in a different neighborhood. She received a five year prison sentence for this arguably lesser crime. If those involved in the college scandal don’t receive legal punishment, it is another piece of clear systematic racism in America today. Some people have argued that this in invalid because McDowell is also in jail for drug charges, but that sentence is to be served concurrently with the five year sentence that is indeed for the address change.
It is saddening that something marketed as a necessity, like a college education, is made more accessible for people of a higher wealth class. Everyone deserves a fair shot and by paying to increase your chances, you are no longer just passively being rich and benefitting but are actively buying into the system and feeding it, allowing it to thrive.
