The Kids are NOT Alright!
March 30, 2019 / / Comments Off on The Kids are NOT Alright!
No one under the age of 30 should have been surprised by the college admissions scandal. Rich parents paying exorbitant amounts of money to buy their children into college doesn’t sounds all that crazy. This is very similar to the idea of the casting couch in Hollywood existing prior to the #MeToo movement. The signs were there, the public just didn’t know to look. These scandals both expose the ugly reality of another injustice in an imperfect society.
The question everyone is asking themselves is whether the students should be punished for what their parents did to get them into college. Parents bribe coaches to say their children played sports that they did not and bribe test proctors to drastically cover-up a weakness, yet the students who submitted the application containing this false information are not viewed as a party to the crime?
This idea does not hold up when you consider the university application process. It is an extremely self-revealing process. Through personal essays, standardized tests, and the compiling of students entire academic career, a student is left with a common application that gives them an idea of their college prospects. This forces young adults to think critically about themselves, what their strengths and weaknesses are and where they see their life going.
Each student, not parent, certifies the truth in each application before they hit the “SEND” button. You don’t just forget you check the box that says you were a varsity athlete capable of being recruited when you didn’t even play the sport. It does not happen. The kids had to have known, in some way, what was going on.
These parents could not bear the idea of being less than perfect amongst their peers. More likely than not these same or similar social factors weighed on the their kids. If the parents have rich friends they’re trying to impress, the same usually goes for their children.
Current students of the universities involved are suing because they allege their education has been diluted as a result of the scandal.. These students are absolutely right, but deserving of a monetary settlement, is a stretch. If colleges paid their students every time a scandal put the institution in a bad light they would owe all their students. These students must continue on making the most of their college experience exactly how they go there in the first place, by working hard.
The fact remains, however, that this is just a snapshot of the ugly realities of the expensive U.S. college admissions system. Like the #MeToo movement, the facts coming to light here reflect a terrible truth buried in our society. Both represent a chance to change and rectify a wrong for the sake of future generations. The first step is recognizing the across the board culpability of everyone involved in filing the false applications and that includes the students who hit the “SEND” Button.
Posted in MomThread, NewYorkThread
