The internet exploded on Tuesday when news broke that the FBI charged 50 people for allegedly taking part in a widespread college admissions scheme involving SAT proctors, millions in bribes, and, of course, your favorite 90's Hollywood celebs (and their Instagram-famous kids).
It's old news that wealthy teenagers have a leg up at the most elite academic insitutions-- their parents could always afford to send them to fancy private schools, pay hundreds of dollars for exam tutors, even hire coaches to help them with their personal essays. Not to mention legacy benefits, major donations, and the likelihood that if they're already traveling in certain social circles, it wouldn't be suprising if they happened to rub shoulders with someone who knows someone on the admissions committee who could maybe if it's not too much trouble put in a good word for young Bradley.
The shocking part of the story is how these parents (many of them from Southern California), who already had so many systemic advantages, allegedly made the leap to committing serious crimes like wiring money to admissions officers through a sham charity and staging photoshoots with their kids to make them look like pro-athletes.
And as if that weren't already enough, the whole thing is full of details straight out of a Lifetime Original Movie-- which will surely be coming soon-- from the title of the investigation (Operation Varsity Blues) to reports that said Instagram-famous daughter was on a yacht in the Bahamas owned by Grove developer Rick Caruso at the same time her mother was arrested.
But even after going through all of the think pieces, memes, and profiles of this guy, we still couldn't stop thinking about this story.
Which is why we turned to you, our loyal readers, to get your reactions. Here's what you said:
Reflections on race and privilege in America.
General sadness/anger/frustration.
Wait, what happens to the kids who are actually students at these schools now?
Surprised but not that surprised.
Wait, what??
Read the rest of the comments here and add your own. There's a lot to unpack.
