College administration bribery scandal

[Prancer]

Dozens of students were inappropriately admitted to California universities, state auditor says

The University of California improperly admitted dozens of students based on their personal or family connections to donors and university staff, the state auditor announced Tuesday.

What, some students get into elite colleges because of who they know and not what they know?

I am shocked, shocked, I tell you.

"I have zero tolerance on matters of integrity and will do everything I can to ensure inappropriate admissions do not happen on any of our campuses," Drake said.

I am sure it will never happen again.

 

[Vagabond]

Dozens of students were inappropriately admitted to California universities, state auditor says

....

I am shocked, shocked, I tell you....

I am sure it will never happen again.

Don't worry, they've already rounded up the usual suspects.

Still, if you divide the total number of students involved down by four campuses and seven years, you are left with the conclusion that only about two students per campus per year were admitted based on personal or family connections to donors or staff. I wonder what the statistics would be for comparable private institutions, either in California (Stanford, U.S.C., the Claremont Colleges....) or elsewhere. Probably higher, no?

 

[MacMadame]

I'm not surprised but I think that it's good to put a spotlight on this.

 

[Prancer]

Probably higher, no?

Are we counting legacies here? I mean, even if we aren't, surely yes.

 

[MacMadame]

Are we counting legacies here? I mean, even if we aren't, surely yes.

The report said something to the effect of "the real count is probably higher" as well.

The report only has the cases they could prove so that makes sense that there are more. Some people are better at hiding their rule bending than others.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

"I have zero tolerance on matters of integrity and will do everything I can to ensure inappropriate admissions do not happen on any of our campuses," Drake said.

I am sure it will never happen again.

Michael Drake. The University Scandal Specialist. Who you gonna call?

He was the head of OSU during the marching band scandal followed by the abused wrestlers scandal and he's now the head of the CA university system. He's the clean up man for the messes made before he took on the leadership role at these universities.

 

[Vagabond]

Are we counting legacies here? I mean, even if we aren't, surely yes.

We are counting legacies.

 

[Prancer]

We are counting legacies.

So that's about one third of Harvard students, not even counting the kids of donors.

I imagine our President would attribute that to good genes.

 

[Vagabond]

So that's about one third of Harvard students, not even counting the kids of donors.

I would expect that most legacy admissions go to the children of alumni who are donors, though those parents' mean donation is probably smaller than that of donors who aren't alumni.

 

[Prancer]

I would expect that most legacy admissions go to the children of alumni who are donors, though those parents' mean donation is probably smaller than that of donors who aren't alumni.

I'm sure that they are, too; that's the entire point of legacies, after all.

 

[Sylvia]

Olivia Jade Giannulli, Lori Loughlin's daughter, breaks silence on college admissions scandal, says she was "poster child of white privilege"

"When it was happening it didn't feel wrong. I was in my own little bubble, focusing on my comfortable world, that I never had to look outside of that bubble," she says.

www.cbsnews.com

Olivia Jade Giannulli, the daughter of actress Lori Loughlin, has broken her silence about the college admissions scandal that landed both her parents in prison. The 21-year old influencer appeared on Tuesday's episode of Red Table Talk to discuss the ordeal.
"I'm not trying to victimize myself, I don't want pity. I don't deserve pity. We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like I recognize I messed up," Olivia Jade Giannulli says.
Jada Pinkett Smith, who hosts the Facebook Watch show with her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, and daughter, Willow Smith, sat with Giannulli to give her an opportunity to share her side of the story.

Olivia Jade’s “Red Table Talk” Is A Good Blueprint For Her Peers

In her first interview since both of her parents were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a college admissions scam, Olivia Jade knows exactly how to apologize.

www.buzzfeednews.com

 

[Vagabond]

Thanks, Sylvia.

I hope that if Olivia Jade Gianulli wants a college degree, she goes somewhere like Cal State Los Angeles, if she can get in, or Los Angeles City College if she can't. There, she can learn a lot more about white privilege without anyone's having to go to prison for her to do so.

 

[overedge]

Surely someone would suspect that something underhanded is going on if they're being asked to pose for photos doing a sport that they've never even tried. It's nice that she now wants to work with underprivileged youth, and that she doesn't want pity, but IMO she's not really addressing her complicity in what happened.

 

[taf2002]

Surely someone would suspect that something underhanded is going on if they're being asked to pose for photos doing a sport that they've never even tried. It's nice that she now wants to work with underprivileged youth, and that she doesn't want pity, but IMO she's not really addressing her complicity in what happened.

Olivia conveniently forgets that at the time this scandal broke the DA was considering charging her & her sister for being complicit since they posed in their "crew" gear. Now she's throwing her parents under the bus & making out like she was just unaware? Yarite.

 

[Jenny]

I read that on CNN yesterday and my first thought, after putting my eyes back in place after they rolled into the top of my head, was that it was practically a paid advertisement for her personal brand. Whatever she's paying her publicist, she should double it.

 

[Vagabond]

Olivia conveniently forgets that at the time this scandal broke the DA was considering charging her & her sister for being complicit since they posed in their "crew" gear. Now she's throwing her parents under the bus & making out like she was just unaware? Yarite.

She's also saying that her father has "attachment issues."

 

[Lemonade20]

I’m not buying what she’s selling. She waited till they were in prison to come out and share her watered down version of what happened.

 

[Vagabond]

Trump Pardons Miami Investor Charged in College Admissions Scandal (Published 2021)

Federal prosecutors accused Robert Zangrillo of conspiring to pay a bribe so that his daughter would be admitted to the University of Southern California.

www.nytimes.com

The Trump White House also said that Ms. Zangrillo “is currently earning a 3.9 G.P.A.” at U.S.C., but the university said in a statement that Ms. Zangrillo was not currently enrolled there....

How Mr. Zangrillo came to be pardoned is unclear. Representatives for two people the White House listed in support of its action — the billionaire investor Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a close friend of Mr. Trump’s and a U.S.C. trustee, and Sean Parker, a co-founder of Napster and early president of Facebook — said that they had not been involved.

I am shaking my head.

 

[Vagabond]

Parents Were Duped, Their Lawyers Say in Start of College Admissions Trial (Published 2021)

The first parents to face trial in the Operation Varsity Blues scandal are casting blame both on Rick Singer, the admissions consultant, and the overall process.

www.nytimes.com

“He thought Singer was legitimate,” Brian T. Kelly, the lawyer for Mr. Abdelaziz, said in his opening statement in Boston federal court. “He had no inkling that Singer was a skilled con man.”

Mr. Singer told the parents that they could bypass the regular admissions process by presenting their children as athletic recruits, and he falsified or embellished their credentials so they could do that, the prosecutor said. Mr. Abdelaziz’s daughter was promoted as a basketball player, and Mr. Wilson’s son was presented as a water polo recruit, even though neither child was actually good enough to play at the university.

The university in question is the University of Southern California.

 

[MsZem]

I thought the update to this thread would be Olivia Jade going on Dancing with the Stars

Olivia Jade Giannulli Says DWTS Is a 'Second Chance' for Her: 'I Hope to Grow as an Individual'

Olivia Jade Giannulli's casting on Dancing with the Stars comes about two and a half years after the college admissions scandal that led to her parents' jail sentences

people.com

I still think her parents should have left her alone to pursue her interests, which clearly did not involve studying at USC.

Really I suspect quite a few of these cases involve parents who should have just let their kids do what was right for them.

 

[Lemonade20]

I thought the update to this thread would be Olivia Jade going on Dancing with the Stars

Olivia Jade Giannulli Says DWTS Is a 'Second Chance' for Her: 'I Hope to Grow as an Individual'

Olivia Jade Giannulli's casting on Dancing with the Stars comes about two and a half years after the college admissions scandal that led to her parents' jail sentences

people.com

I still think her parents should have left her alone to pursue her interests, which clearly did not involve studying at USC.

Really I suspect quite a few of these cases involve parents who should have just let their kids do what was right for them.

It annoys me that someone like Olivia Jade would earn an invite to DWTS. She does not deserve our attention and time.

 

[MsZem]

It annoys me that someone like Olivia Jade would earn an invite to DWTS. She does not deserve our attention and time.

She's a reasonably successful influencer across multiple platforms, and not the first DWTS contestant with such a profile.

And really, this isn't some prestigious award, nobody needs to do anything to "earn" an invite. If the producers and network think someone will be a good fit for the show (= generate interest) that's all that matters.

 

[MacMadame]

Parents Were Duped, Their Lawyers Say in Start of College Admissions Trial (Published 2021)

The first parents to face trial in the Operation Varsity Blues scandal are casting blame both on Rick Singer, the admissions consultant, and the overall process.

www.nytimes.com

The university in question is the University of Southern California.

How can anyone say with a straight face that they were duped? They were asked to lie. Lying on your college app is not "legitimate" in any way shape or form.

 

[Vagabond]

How can anyone say with a straight face that they were duped? They were asked to lie. Lying on your college app is not "legitimate" in any way shape or form.

Oh, it's easy. You just have to be shameless. And they are.

 

[genevieve]

It annoys me that someone like Olivia Jade would earn an invite to DWTS. She does not deserve our attention and time.

DWTS has had Bristol Palin and Kate Goesselin. This is right up their alley.

 

[Lemonade20]

DWTS has had Bristol Palin and Kate Goesselin. This is right up their alley.

Bristol only stepped in because her mom couldn't, and only because her mom was famous. Kate Goesselin is the original Karen.

 

[Judy]

Still just a kid. Not great IMO with everything that happened. She's 21 I hope further mistakes aren't made.

did she ever try to get back into a school?

 

[Prancer]

How can anyone say with a straight face that they were duped? They were asked to lie. Lying on your college app is not "legitimate" in any way shape or form.

Ask Olivia Jade:

"When I was applying, I was not fully aware of what was going on. I think that I put a lot of trust into a person that claimed their profession was college counseling, and it led me in the wrong direction,” Olivia said. “I did work hard, and when this did come out, I was a little confused when I saw stuff about what I had written on my application, and I remember writing on my application about my YouTube channel and VidCon, and there were two very different things, so there was a lot of it that I was like, ‘Whoa.’”

Apparently Rick Singer hypnotized them all with his wicked con man ways and they just didn't realize that they were lying on their applications. Then he pulled out a little black thing and flashed a light in their faces and wiped their memories.

 

[MacMadame]

Ask Olivia Jade:

"When I was applying, I was not fully aware of what was going on. I think that I put a lot of trust into a person that claimed their profession was college counseling, and it led me in the wrong direction,” Olivia said. “I did work hard, and when this did come out, I was a little confused when I saw stuff about what I had written on my application, and I remember writing on my application about my YouTube channel and VidCon, and there were two very different things, so there was a lot of it that I was like, ‘Whoa.’”

Apparently Rick Singer hypnotized them all with his wicked con man ways and they just didn't realize that they were lying on their applications. Then he pulled out a little black thing and flashed a light in their faces and wiped their memories.

I believe her to some extent. We know parents have said they did this behind their kids' backs mostly. It's the parents where I question this defense.

 

[Prancer]

I believe her to some extent. We know parents have said they did this behind their kids' backs mostly. It's the parents where I question this defense.

Eh, she posed for the pictures. She's not three. If she didn't know, it's because she didn't want to know. That doesn't mean she really understood it all (I find it doubtful that she did, actually), but I don't think she was unaware that she was being put out there as a rower because that would improve her chances of getting into UCLA.

But this is all definitely parent driven. Most teenagers have no idea what college is and if they are fixated on getting into a particular college, it's almost always because their parents are fixated on that college. Or some college.

What I find interesting about all this is that these kids already have so much; most of them are set for life even if they don't go to college at all. They don't "need" to get into a top college. Yet here these parents are, going to such lengths to ensure that their already overly advantaged child has even MORE advantages just because they can't not have the most successful kids.

I cannot imagine what living with a parent who looks at you in terms of how much you are winning must be like.