{"id":28317,"date":"2019-03-15T10:05:09","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T14:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/?p=28317"},"modified":"2019-03-15T10:05:09","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T14:05:09","slug":"editorial-heres-why-the-college-admissions-scam-matters-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/opinion\/2019\/03\/15\/editorial-heres-why-the-college-admissions-scam-matters-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"EDITORIAL: Here’s why the college admissions scam matters to me."},"content":{"rendered":"

From <\/span>Fuller House<\/span><\/i> to the big house is where Aunt Becky, aka Lori Loughlin, is moving, as she is under fire for being a part of, in the words of the FBI, \u201cone of the largest college scams ever.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

On March 12, the news broke that Loughlin and actress Felicity Huffman are two of many charged in a college admissions scam, which included paying others to take their children\u2019s S.A.T and A.C.T and bribing coaches to make false claims. The FBI has concluded that over 50 people are involved in the scam, including two S.A.T and A.C.T administrators, an exam proctor, a college administrator, nine coaches, and thirty-three parents. Many of these parents paid vast amounts of money to scam their children\u2019s way into college. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a regular student who works my tail off to do my best, this news, in general, is very frustrating, and it should be to you. The most infuriating part of all of this is Loughlin\u2019s story. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Loughlin is married to Italian fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli and has two girls, Olivia Jade (age 19) and Isabella Rose (age 20). Both girls are enrolled in the University of Southern California and have huge social media followings, but Olivia is the star. She currently has 1.3 million Instagram followers and almost 2 million Youtube subscribers who watch her weekly videos. <\/span><\/p>\n

Loughlin and her husband are being held responsible for paying bribes up to $500,000 to have their daughters designated as recruits for the USC crew team. But Olivia and Isabella have never participated in crew. . . ever. <\/span><\/p>\n

Olivia has been under fire before, for comments, she made in a Youtube video prior to the outbreak of the scandal. <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know how much of school I\u2019m gonna attend,\u201d she previously told her nearly 2 million subscribers. \u201cBut I\u2019m gonna go in and talk to my deans and everyone, and hope that I can try and balance it all. But I do want the experience of like game days, partying. . . I don\u2019t really care about school, as you guys all know.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many were not pleased with the 19-year-old\u2019s remarks, so she apologized in a later Youtube video by stating, \u201cI said something super ignorant and stupid, basically. And it totally came across that I\u2019m ungrateful for college \u2014 I\u2019m going to a really nice school. And it just kind of made it seem like I don\u2019t care, I just want to brush it off. I\u2019m just gonna be successful at YouTube and not have to worry about school. I\u2019m really disappointed in myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The question that everyone is asking is why. Why did Loughlin and her family feel the need to cheat their way into a university? Oliva attended high school at Marymount Catholic High School, which was for all girls. Even though she got her diploma, Olivia was in and out of school a lot to pursue her YouTube career.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the whole story of how the <\/span>Giannulli sisters actually got into college out in the open, my frustration is at its peak, and yours should be too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many students have the goal to go to college once they graduate high school. To achieve this goal, students work their absolute hardest. They work to take the most challenging classes possible and to keep their grades in these classes above average. Not only do students work in school, but they also work outside of school to participate in more activities such as sports, theatre, music, and clubs to expand their resume and add extra shine to their the college applications. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Olivia did not work nearly as hard as she should have if she really wanted to go to college. Showing up to school when you feel like it and getting out for an endless stream of vacations is not how you get into college. To the world, a prime example that your social status and money can get you anything you want is now what Olivia Jade is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another part of this story that frustrates me is that Loughlin had her daughters become fake recruits for the USC crew team, even though the girls have never participated in crew. It is very disappointing to see two spots of the crew team being filled by two girls who could care less about crew. While these two spots are being filled uselessly, there are two girls somewhere who could have gotten into USC and made the crew team on their own merit. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are many high school athletes who dream of going to college to continue playing their sport. These athletes work day and night to improve anything they can to help them become better at what they do. Besides the countless hours of training and practice, high school athletes work to keep their grades up, since colleges look at their schooling as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

The work for athletes does not stop once they get into college; it only increases. Athletes in college have to keep up with their schoolwork and maintain their grades while traveling all around the country to compete. They don\u2019t get an excuse for their school work because they are an athlete, and they are expected to perform academically like everyone else attending college. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Olivia and Isabella have no clue how much work it would take to actually commit to a college for athletics, let alone to participate in athletics at a university. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, as a typical high school student, from a typical middle-class family, I am frustrated. The vast majority of students who attend college have to take out immense amounts of student loans from the bank. These loans could stick with students for an average of ten years, to be paid off monthly. A lot of the time, families do not see paying back tens of thousands of dollars in loans realistic, so they choose the much cheaper option of community college. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do not get me wrong, there is nothing bad about community college. In fact, I will be attending community college myself next fall. Yes, I am happy to be saving thousands of dollars, but of course, I would love to attend a university. <\/span><\/p>\n