Beloved TV personality Lori Loughlin stole our hearts as Aunt Becky on “Full House,” and now she is stealing students’ spots in top-tier universities. On March 12, 2019 news headlines were overwhelmed with commentary on the recent college cheating admission scandal that was released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This scandal charged over 50 parents in the elaborate scheme to bribe their undeserving children’s ways into top-tier universities. The deceptive techniques involved forging test scores, bribing coaches, or as Loughlin did, post her daughters as recruits for the crew team when neither have ever participated in the sport.
While there have been dozens of universities involved, University of Southern California and Loughlin have faced heavy criticism due to her family’s public presence, alongside her daughter, Olivia Jade’s, now disgraced Youtube success. Jade found her own fame by creating a Youtube Channel, @oliviajadebeauty, that promoted a luxurious lifestyle filled with extravagant gifts and vacations. She attempted, but miserably failed, to appeal to her middle-class audience in promoting more affordable brands such as her recently dropped collection with Princess Polly. Although Jade has apparently blamed her parents for “[ruining] her life,” this is not the first time she has sparked controversy. In a video that has since been deleted from her Youtube Channel, Jade is recorded saying that she “doesn’t really care about school” and only wants to go for the parties and game-days. The ignorance and privilege that this family exudes is disturbing. If you had enough money to pay for your daughter’s admission, why did you not have enough money to pay for a tutor?
The deceptive actions of these parents has not only poorly affected their children’s future, but more importantly, has cheated a deserving student of their rightful spot. Your money may have bought you a spot at a university, but it can never buy you the intelligence and eloquence that the deserving students have. The victims in this case are not the disgraced parents or their children, but rather the students who were wrongfully rejected from these schools. This scandal not only discredits a university, but its students as well. Attending a university where admission can be easily bought invalidates the hard-work and determination that the rightful students have achieved. No longer will a university have the prestige of considering itself one of the top schools in the nation, but rather it will be known as a school where the rich, white kids can get in with their parent’s money. The selfishness of only caring about your family’s reputation has negatively impacted the rightful students’ success.
Undermining the hard-work of other students in order to further the reputation of your undeserving children is inexcusable. The privileged children who cheated their way into school can drop-out and still have the comfort of relying on their parents’ money. However, those students who were stripped of admittance and come from first-generation and low-income families do not have that luxury to fall-back on. These students were left questioning why they were not “good enough” to get into such prominent universities. They worked tirelessly to have the privilege of receiving a higher education, to better their families and their future, yet your privileged and selfish agenda stripped them of their rightful admission because you value your reputation more than you do morality. To these families, stop undermining deserving students’ success because they have what you could only dream for your children to have.
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