Why is anyone surprised by the admissions cheating scandal? Why is this still an issue?
Professor Doom believes it is still is an issue because the money was going to the administrators now, where before it went to the colleges. http://professorconfess.blogspot.com/
The wealthy have always bought their kids entry into colleges that they could never get into on merit.
Hell in 1986 Rodney Dangerfield made a movie that incorporated this exact scenario into it. I have included some lines from the movie to prove my point. “Back to School” was hilarious when I was in college and I still find it amusing.
Dean Martin : [Barbay has arrived at the groundbreaking of the new Melon School of Business] Ah, Phillip… so glad you could make it. Mr. Melon, this is Dr. Phillip Barbay. He’s the dean of our new Melon School of Business.
Dr. Phillip Barbay : [Thornton extends his hand, Barbay refuses it and takes Martin aside] David, I just want to get it on record that I am totally against this. I don’t think that selling admission to an obviously unqualified student is either ethical or honorable.
Dean Martin : Uh, right… Phil. In Mr. Melon’s defense, it was a really big check.
Dr. Phillip Barbay : [glaring at Martin in dismay] It’s a simple matter of undermining the efforts of our best students, who are here as the result of hard work!
Thornton Melon : [chiming in] Hard work? Listen, Sherlock! While you were tucked away up here working on your ethics, I was out there busting my hump in the REAL world. And the reason guys like you got a place to teach is ’cause guys like me donate buildings.
Dr. Phillip Barbay : I wasn’t speaking to you, Mr. Melon.
So, I don’t get why are we scandalized? Private colleges especially, only have so much capacity and there are only so many free or discounted spaces available. So someone has to pay the freight for the discounters, it usually is the wealthy. Remember the bottom 45% of Federal Income Tax filers pay no income taxes and some people get more back than what they put into the system (EIC). So the wealthy pay the freight for most, in all situations.
We just need to get back to the status que where the money goes to the colleges and not the greedy overpaid administrators.