As always, a wonderful take on the college admissions bribery scandal by Matt Levine:
Here is one thing that U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in announcing the charges:
“There can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy, and I’ll add that there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.”
Level playing field! Here is another thing he said less than a minute later:
“We’re not talking about donating a building so that a school’s more likely to take your son or your daughter. We’re talking about deception and fraud.”
There can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy, except for the extremely well-known one where you donate a building in exchange for getting your kid in! “Lol just donate a building like a real rich person,” the U.S. Attorney almost said.
. . . . .
It is not about fairness; it is about theft. Selective colleges have admissions spots that they want to award in particular ways. They want to award some based on academic factors; they want to award others based on athletic skill; they want to award others in exchange for cash, but—and this is crucial—really a whole lot of cash. Buildings are not cheap.
You Have to Pay the Right Person