The College Admissions Scandal
Last week, after the news broke about a huge college admissions cheating scandal, many struggled to process what had happened. This month’s blog is my take on the scandal, from the role of privilege in college admissions to the media spotlighting Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman in the scandal.
If you are like me, you likely grew up with Lori Loughlin in your living room, weekly, on the family friendly Full House. She starred as the talented, perky, and beautiful Aunt Becky. You also were likely shocked to see #auntbecky trending on Twitter last week. I’ll be honest; my first thought was that something awful had happened to her. What I learned when I clicked that hashtag was both shocking and, sadly, not that shocking at all.
The idea that the wealthy use their privilege to gain advantages for their children is not new or surprising. There are so many ways that this happens that it is difficult to fully quantify. We know that parental income and education are still some of the most powerful predictors of student achievement. We know that kids who come from wealthier backgrounds hear more words, read more, and have more early interventions when they struggle. Their schools are often better funded. There are numerous advantages that kids gain just by having wealthy (or financially comfortable) parents. The ultra-wealthy have, basically forever, used that wealth to gain favor. I’m not sure that anyone who heard any of these statements would dispute them. So why were we so surprised when the most recent scandal broke?
I think that we were surprised for a couple reasons. Mostly, we expect that people will follow the law, especially people who play trustworthy characters on television. But more than that, we were surprised because we think, consciously or not, that there are “right” and “wrong” ways to game the system. In fact, the comment that I keep coming across on Twitter and in blogs about this is about why the people involved didn’t just donate a huge amount of money to the school to guarantee admission. Somehow, that seems more palatable to people? Does this mean that we accept a two-tiered system of college admission as long as it is done the “right” way? Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way defending anyone who participated in the college admission scandal. It was terrible and all participants should be punished. But I wish that, in all of the things that I read about it, I had heard more about the injustice of the system starting at a young age, rather than just rage at the fact that these people faked sports skills and SAT scores. If the illegality is the only reason you are upset about the college admissions scandal, you might have missed the larger point.
Lastly, I just have to comment on the public shaming that has taken place around just three of the participants in the scandal. Sure, they are two well-known actresses and a YouTube influencer and I am certain that their fame makes a difference. But still, it is worth noting that the names that have been publicly paraded have been the women, despite many men being charged with the same crimes. Do we expect more because we feel like we know them from television? Maybe. Or, is it something more than that? Are we holding them to a higher standard because they are women? Just some food for thought, my dear reader, as we continue to watch the coverage of this scandal unfold.
-Amy