I doubt it surprises anyone that we have found a couple of celebrities at the center of a scandal involving them using their money and influence to get their semi-adult children into what most consider “elite” universities. And based on the memes and late-night jokes, most of America is enjoying the pile on. And why not? We can feel both wronged and smug that we are not like “them.” Without getting into the moral and philosophical quandary and seeing ourselves a morally superior to people in the public eye, I would like to have you consider some questions this scandal raises for me, concerns we have an opportunity to address.
We should notice that none of the sports involved in the controversy are attention grabbers. Crew is a sport I usually have to explain when it is mentioned in conversation, and generally only gets watched during the Olympics. Tennis is more popular, but I would venture to guess that most you reading last saw a tennis player on a commercial or in a news story. I would also guess that most of you have never watched these sports as played by college athletes.
there is one standard for most students in terms of admittance…and a different standard for athletes
I do not say this to denigrate the athletes or the sports they play. These sports require hard work and discipline to do at the collegiate level, and most of the participants know they will not make a living at it. But what should stand out is that the sports, being under the radar enough to escape notice, are used because the admission requirements for athletes are, at most schools, consistently lower. Most colleges enroll a fraction of their students under “special admit” policies which are supposed to be available to students in fields other than sports, but most of those designations go to athletes. What that usually means is that there is one standard for most students in terms of admittance, determined by such numbers as SAT scores, and a different standard for athletes. And the problem is more than a matter of a handful of entitled children taking spots that ought to go to harder working, more deserving students, though that is significant. Saahil Desai wrote, back in October, “college sports at elite schools are a quiet sort of affirmative action for affluent white kids, and play a big role in keeping these institutions so stubbornly white and affluent.”
I am not arguing that special admit programs should be abolished, only applied fairly. How many bright musicians or scientists are not able to get into the schools which would best cultivate their talents and discipline, not just because the offspring of a rich kid has manipulated the system, but because the football or basketball coach is building his program and trying to keep his team on television?
Another concern we should have is that the abuse and outright cheating has happened for a very long time, and will likely continue after the veneer of celebrity scandal has stopped glistening. We should ask ourselves if the story (really, it is several stories, as it contains many parts and many different methods of deception) would even interest us if famous actresses and a designer were not involved. I’m sure the story would get written, but it would likely not have so much traction. Other wealthy people not only are involved here, but there have been people doing exactly what is alleged for many years. Where are our politicians, left and right, who decry privileged elites while running for office, but continue to perpetuate the systems while in office?
As a graduate from a small state school and a professor at a community college, I am also very concerned that stories about the scandal inadvertently preserve the false notion that places like USC, the University of Texas, and even Harvard provide the best education possible. For the thousands of parents literally gaming the system to give their children unfair access, they know higher education is not about education at all, but is more about status and connections, which is really part of the myth. Go to a big school, and people are more likely to hire you because it is assumed you are smarter and more talented. To complete this circle, we have known for a long time that college admissions increase significantly after a visible sports program (again, football and basketball primarily) has a successful season.
We should all be appalled at what we have learned, but we should not be surprised. I would like to believe that the notoriety of the people involved will help jump-start some real efforts for change, not only in rules, but our perception of education. However, I am not hopeful. Most Americans can easily spend hours binging shows on Netflix or talking about the latest TMZ fueled gossip. Precious few will get out of the chair and spend a fraction of that time calling a state representative, talking to a high school counselor, or — egad! — discussing the subject with their children.
