College admission scandal, inequality is the elephant in the room

It is hardly old news that the top one percent of universities in the U.S. are more likely to recruit students from affluent families. They are already gaining more edges with legacy admissions and money to pay for tutoring lessons.

The recent U.S. college admission scandal reveals just how far rich parents would go to push their children to prestigious universities and get the membership of the winning club; and how little room it has left for genuine, hard-working students who play by the rules to achieve their own "America Dream."

Tip of the iceberg

According to the indictments released by the U.S. Justice Department, alleged wealthy parents including actress Felicity Huffman are charged for using bribery and fraud to change their SAT or ACT scores and fake their children's athletes' identity for special recruits to universities like Yale and Stanford. It has almost become a standardized industry that involves ghostwriters, college staff and agents, where the price of a college ticket is clearly marked between 15,000 to 500,000 U.S. dollars.

But this 8-year-long lasted wrongdoing is, as some have argued, the tip of the iceberg, where a rigged and broken college entrance system has been hiding for an even longer time.

Demonstrators against Harvard University's admission process hold signs and American flags while gathering during a protest at Copley Square in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., on Sunday, October 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

At the press conference, the U.S. attorney Andrew Lelling may have unintentionally pointed the irony and absurdity of this case when he said: “We're not talking about donating a building… We're talking about fraud.”

So, there is indeed a proper and legal way to buy your kids a spot in the Ivy League.

Lelling made a laudable statement when he said that "There will not be a separate admissions system for the wealthy." But the stats report a different story. According to The Harvard Crimson, over 29 percent of Harvard's class of 2021 are legacy students. An analysis by Students for Fair Admissions also reveals that legacy applicants are five times more likely to be accepted to Harvard.

With most of the high-ranking universities in the U.S. adopting a legacy-preference policy, WSJ has found that alumni children have a "45 percent greater chance of admission" than other applicants.

The "back" and "side" door

It is worse when such unfairness coupled with racial inequality. A disclosed internal Harvard report from 2012 reveals that legacy preferences mainly benefit white students.

William Rick Singer, the man who made these parents' dream come true, describes it the best. There's the "front door" which opens to the public and promised non-discriminable access, and a "back door" the entrance of which will be open to multimillion-dollar donations. What he did, through bribery and conspiracy, is create a "side door" for parents in the millionaire club to the same "level playing field" with the billionaires.

William Rick Singer leaves Boston Federal Court on March 12, 2019, in Boston, Massachusetts. /VCG Photo

It would not be hard to imagine if these kids from these privileged backgrounds have to go so far to get in, just how hard a first-generation college student has to work to climb only one further step to the education ladder.

This scandal has ripped off yet another fig leaf to cover the disgrace of the American Dream that has gone bad. Education as one of the most essential means to speed up social mobility has lost its power in America. The land that used to promise all kinds of opportunities regardless of their birth and race now has seen a more rigid system and a monolithic wealthy class that hoards the scare resources.

The Ivy League colleges play just as bad as these parents in the crime of inequality. When you run schools like business, money and fame guarantee profits. They know well enough that kids from wealthy families have much higher chances to become affluent and make a donation.

The worst part is, actions calls for equality and policies favored the poor have seen rising voices of resistance, including U.S. President Donald Trump who openly criticizes that Obama's admission to Harvard was due to his race. Those who played a part in the scam should be held accountable, but it is also time, as the alarm rings, to talk about the elephant in the room which has been overlooked for many years more.

(CGTN)