I published my initial take on “Operation Varsity Blues” – commonly known as “the college cheating scandal”, back in 2019. I intentionally planned to wait until after the court rulings before I published Part II. I had a slight hope that justice would be served in this case – since this was the first time we were able to peek behind the veil and collectively witness how privilege and resources converge to manipulate our educational system.
I predicted that the parents involved would get slaps on the wrists (no real punishment) – and that after the dust settled, things would return to how they’ve always been: Wealth buying access to undeserved spaces. Unfortunately, my initial pessimism was spot-on. No new outcomes (I could have published this piece a year ago).
Still, a few good things came out of waiting to publish this piece. I not only had the opportunity to watch failed celebrity PR strategies, but I also had the chance to see the eye-opening documentary, “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal” on Netflix.
Now, I can speak on ALL of it!
Damage control 101: pretend to care…
When news broke about this scandal, the big names involved were scrambling to figure out what to do next. Retaining legal counsel was of course the most important, but immediately after was image repair – especially for the children involved who claimed to be totally unaware of what was happening around them.
Lori Loughlin’s Daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli, was of particular public interest because: 1) her mom played Rebecca – Uncle Jesse’s love interest on “Full House” and in recent years starred in a popular Hallmark TV series; and 2) Olivia Jade was somewhat famous in her own right as a social media make-up influencer. By all accounts, Olivia Jade was already well on her way to being a successful business woman in high school. Prior to all the bad publicity, she managed to secure a brand deal with Sephora, an internationally renown beauty company.
Ironically, it was her social media presence that helped bolster the prosecution’s case. She would often lament about having to study or do school work in YouTube videos – never hiding her strong disinterest in academics to millions of followers. So when Olivia Jade and her older sister were accepted to the prestigious University of Southern California (USC), it raised more than a few eyebrows.
While her mother was preparing for trial, Olivia Jade asked to be a guest on the popular Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk, hosted by Jada Pinkett-Smith. During the interview, there was only one thing I wanted to know: Did Olivia Jade know what her parents were doing to get her into school? She doesn’t admit to that – and I don’t think the question was directly asked. But, she had to have known something, or at the very least, was willfully ignorant about the admissions process.
She took pictures on a rowing machine which was added to her college application, and her acceptance letter stated that she would be on the rowing team. Olivia never rowed a day in her life. So wouldn’t it be odd reading an acceptance letter that admits you on the condition that you join the…rowing team?
She had to have known what was going on.
For anyone who has applied to college, you know that there is a long checklist of things that students must provide for consideration: Transcripts, a list of extracurricular activities, a personal essay, letters of recommendation, community service, etc. For those of us that had to do this, we did it on our own.
I remember requesting my transcripts, struggling to write my personal essay, asking teachers who actually liked me for recommendations, and trying to manage all the stress that goes into completing college applications by the deadline. If Olivia Jade didn’t do any of this on her own, or at the very least was substantially involved in the process, that alone is unfair and denotes extreme privilege.
A CLEAR picture of the college cheating scandal
After watching “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Cheating Scandal” on Netflix, I was even more disgusted by the brazen actions of the parents, and how willing some in the system compromised their principles for money – but I wasn’t exactly surprised.
This is how the world has worked for a long time in almost every industry, so why would higher education be any different. I’ve said repeatedly that the best way to win in a corrupt system is to stop participating in it – in the areas you can reasonably control. Education is something that we can control. If these institutions of learning were not so coveted by people who must depend on merit for acceptance, this would not happen.
As a society, we need to foster the idea of life long learning and to reinforce a truth that is often overlooked: Degrees do not automatically suggest intelligence. If we explained to students that it’s important to get a good education, but also that many institutions of higher learning are great schools, we would start to dismantle the perception that the only schools worth their salt are Ivy League.
Furthermore, we should celebrate ALL forms of education – certificates, trades, college, independent study, and personal growth endeavors. As long as students are actually learning, doing what they have a strong interest in and makes them proud, and are able to provide for their families, isn’t that just as meaningful? Isn’t that the goal?
If we are not careful, we will have a society where undeserving people are in positions of extreme importance, and they are completely unprepared for the task. There is no one to take the test for them. And even if they hire highly competent people to support and shield them, they still would’ve needed to do the hard work over a number of years just to know the right decisions to make. My point is, a person’s lack of preparation will eventually cost them.
If we are all lucky, the consequences of all this will only be at a significant personal cost to the individuals who decide to game the system. If we as a society aren’t lucky, they will cheat their way to positions of significance and it will impact us all later. In the case of Olivia Jade, she lost a major brand deal with Sephora and probably some followers, but what if she went through college doing the same thing? Would you want her as your lawyer, physician, or structural engineer?
We all benefit from rewarding people truly based on merit. Those that work hard, study hard, prepare, and invest the time necessary to be on-point, should be able to aspire to the positions they want in life – no matter their personal circumstances. Merit based systems allow for that.
School should be a training ground for people who put in serious effort to sharpen their skills, instill important ethical values, and prepare them to change the world for the better. It’s for this reason, it’s in everyone’s interest to maintain the integrity of our educational system at all costs.
