[Source: Associated Press, Chris Pizzello]
For many high schooler students, getting accepted into a prestigious university is the motivation behind their hard work. To even be considered for these top universities, students study extremely hard, dreaming of the day they will be able to attend one of these schools. However, some students have it much easier than others.
Recently, the college admissions scandal or what the FBI has called “Varsity Blue” has been the center of attention, especially for high school students and their families. Fifty people have been caught for taking part in illegal acts to help get kids from wealthy families get accepted into some of our nation’s top colleges. The public was shocked when famous actresses such as Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman were revealed to have taken part in these scandals.
[Source: Associated Press, Charles Krupa]
Lori Loughlin has two daughters that are currently attending the University of Southern California (USC), Isabella and Olivia Jade Giannulli. However, it has been found out that the two girls were actually illegally let into the elite university. Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly paid $500,000 for each of their daughters’ college admissions. They paid the University of Southern California’s crew coach these bribes to let their daughters into the university for athletics. Both Isabella and Olivia have never rowed before, and took two spots on the crew team that could’ve been given to an aspiring athlete.
Olivia Jade is a well known Youtuber and social media star, with nearly 2 million subscribers on Youtube. Many of her subscribers have displayed their shock and disappointment in her, mainly because she was a role model and someone that many young teens respected. Although Lori Loughlin’s case is one of the biggest frauds, there are dozens of other parents that have used their wealth as bribes too.
One of the most common methods is cheating on the SAT and ACT tests. Many people have been caught bribing test administrators to change their children’s answers in secret or even having the test administered in private. Surprisingly, several of these students actually were not aware of the illegal actions they had been forced to take a part of. After the news of the cheating scandals were released, many high school students, college students, and their parents have been voicing their angry opinions.
When asked about her opinions on the newly revealed college admissions scandals, Jenna Okohira, a sophomore at South Pasadena High School said, “I am so upset and angry about the whole situation. Having wealthy parents should not let someone get into an elite university with no effort from their part. These kids don’t deserve a spot at these universities. They essentially stole a great opportunity from a hardworking, deserving student that spent their years of high school studying hard.” The recent news of these scandals has truly been shocking and disappointing to many and seeing many of them being served the consequences they deserve has been at the core.
Nicole Kim, Grade 10
South Pasadena High School
