College admissions scandal is a morality play
The college admission cheating scandal that raced through social media and dominated news cycles this week wasn’t exactly shocking: Wealthy parents rigged the system for their underachieving children.
It’s an ancient morality play set at elite universities with an unseemly cast of characters: spoiled teens and shameless parents; corrupt test proctors and paid test takers; as well as college sports officials willing to be bribed and a ring leader who ultimately turned on all of them.
William “Rick” Singer, who went to college in San Antonio, wore a wire to cooperate with FBI investigators.
The ethics professor in this script would have to fail the lot of them.
The case exposed an American underbelly: greed, naked privilege and our own appetite for seeing the privileged fall. Some parents may face jail time as a result of the $25 million conspiracy case, the largest of its kind.
Yet even though they were arrested, the 50 people involved managed to secure the best possible outcome under the circumstances. Unlike many caught shoplifting or possessing small amounts of marijuana and who lack the lawyers and resources to help them navigate the legal system, the accused parents and coaches quickly posted bond and were promptly released without spending much time in custody.
A hedge fund CEO lost his job but retained a seat on its board. The Hallmark Channel fired actress Lori Loughlin, one of the accused parents. Her daughter, a “social media influencer,” lost sponsors for her website. Several coaches were fired.
Some parents were alerted to expect officers at their doors. Others got the opportunity to turn themselves in rather than be arrested and taken in handcuffs.
People involved in far more minor offenses have received far harsher treatment. FBI agents reportedly arrived at the home of actress Felicity Huffman with guns drawn, but that may have been the most dramatic moment reported so far.
Some of the accused could face prison terms, but no one in ordinary America expects they will serve time. It’s just not how most believe the system works for the rich and powerful. Many Americans believe the criminal justice system is manipulated by wealth, race, power and status.
They believe a guilty defendant with the best of lawyers may have a better chance of being found not guilty than an innocent person represented by an overwhelmed, underpaid or ill-prepared attorney. They believe “justice for all” is an American aspiration not yet fully realized.
Public outrage about this case might be directly proportional to the wealth inequality that exists in 21st-century America, in which the top 1 percent of U.S. households own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined.
Thankfully, there are more characters in this drama: hardworking, cash-strapped students who didn’t cheat on their SAT or ACT tests and didn’t lie on college applications.
They may not attend elite schools, but if they do, it’s because they worked hard to get there. They’re immigrants, single parents, veterans, disabled and non-traditional students. They’re white, black, Latino, Native American and Asian. They’re first-generation college students defying all the odds.
They were helped into college by affirmative action, like I was, through programs trying to right the wrongs of the past and remove long-held barriers that denied women, too.
They’re why community college should be free. These institution play a critical role in paving paths out of poverty.
We all know such students, or perhaps once sat in their seats. They wake up early and go to bed late. They agonize over scholarship applications and pray their loans are approved.
They commute or take several buses to get to school and hold down full- or part-time jobs. They’re especially vulnerable to for-profit schools.
They manage to get into college all on their own, can’t afford tutors and are at risk of dropping out. Some of them couch-surf their way through semesters, or sleep in their cars. They are the reason why several local colleges now operate food pantries.
They take on too much debt, and their parents don’t have lawyers, tax accountants or public relations people. We all know a couple of those students.
They smile the broadest smiles at graduation ceremonies and thank their parents. And probably not a one will have to forgive a parent for breaking laws to get them into college.