Affirmative Action for the Privileged Rich

The admittance rate for Harvard’s class of 2025 was 3.43%, the lowest ever . . . except for “ALDCs”:  athletes, “legacies” (children of Harvard alums), “dean’s interest list” (children of rich donors) and children of Harvard faculty and employees (“fac brats“). Naturally these offspring of the school’s “Old Boy’s Club” are largely White:

.”.. 43% of Harvard’s white students are either recruited athletes, legacy students, on the dean’s interest list (their parents have donated to the school) or children of faculty and staff …. The kicker? Roughly three-quarters of these applicants would have been rejected if it weren’t for having rich or Harvard-connected parents or being an athlete.”

— “Turns out, Harvard students aren’t that smart after all,” Tayo Bero, The Guardian

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The Falwell Legacy at Liberty University

Trump-backing, pistol packing attorney Jerry Falwell Jr., President of Liberty University by grace of God being fathered by university founder Jerry Falwell Sr., has stepped down as head of LU, the world’s largest evangelical Christian diploma mill. His exit last month followed revelation of sexual scandal involving Falwell Jr., his wife, and a hotel pool boy. Liberty University’s code of honor holds that sex outside of “biblically-ordained marriage” is a ticket to Hell, and students who practice it are automatically expelled. Mr. Falwell Jr. slinks away in disgrace with a mere $10.5 million separation package. 

An early endorser of Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign, Jerry Falwell Jr. forgave him for his adultery and other transgressions. “We’re all sinners, every one of us,” he said. “We’ve all done things we wish we hadn’t.”

Under Junior’s leadership, LU prospered through shady real estate deals, low-quality online courses, and untold hundreds of millions in federal student loans. The university board has started an independent investigation of business operations under Falwell Jr.’s tenure.

More:

“Business partner of Falwells says affair with evangelical power couple spanned seven years,” Aram Rosten, Reuters

“‘She was the aggressor’: Former Liberty student alleges sexual encounter with Becki Falwell,” Brandon Ambrosino, Politico

“Jerry Falwell Jr., Trump’s early and effusive evangelical champion, lifted a president before his own fall,” Eugene Scott, Washington Post

“Liberty University investigating fallen president Jerry Falwell Jr.’s entire tenure,” Theresa Braine, NY Daily News

“My Final Farewell to the Falwells,” Larry Flynt, Daily Beast

Updates:

“Liberty tells staff to refrain from interacting with Falwell,” AP via WTOP News

“The Falwells, the pool attendant and the double life that brought them all down,” By Michael E. Miller and Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post

Related:

“A Trump executive order set the stage for Falwell’s political activities,” Maggie Severns, Politico

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Hot Pockets Heiress Guilty in College Admissions Cheating Scandal

Michelle Janavs, heiress to the Hot Pockets microwave snack fortune, has been sentenced to 2 minutes on High in a 1880 watt oven five months in federal prison after pleading guilty to helping her daughters cheat the college application process. Ms. Janavs admitted to paying $100,000 to have to have someone cheat on her daughters’ ACT exams. She also agreed to pay a USC athletic official $200,000 to have one daughter recruited to the college as a beach volleyball athlete when her only qualification was owning a swimsuit. On the bright side, some low-security federal prisons have volleyball courts, so maybe Ms. Janavs will be able to coach her daughter after she’s done her time.

Michelle Janavs must also pay a $250,000 fine, was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service, and faces two years of supervised release after she’s freed from prison.

More:

“Hot Pocket Heir Michelle Janavs Was Sentenced To 5 Months In Prison In The College Admissions Scandal,” Ellie Hall, BuzzFeed News

“A Trojan horse: USC was the most frequent target in alleged admissions scheme,”
Moriah Balingit, Susan Svrluga, and Nick Anderson, Washington Post

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Student Debt

Student loan debt has increased exponentially in the past few decades, and now totals $1.6 trillion. Some Democratic presidential candidates want to cancel those debts. Alvin Chang explores the proposal. A Vox video.

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Donald J. Trump, B.S.

For decades now, Donald Trump has been telling everyone he’s a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, giving the impression that his degree is an MBA, but that’s literally BS. He got a Bachelor of Science degree from U Penn, without honors, having transferred in after spending two years at Fordham. It was a BS in finance, so it should be no surprize that his finance policies are BS.

Mr. Trump implied that Barack Obama was only accepted to Columbia through affirmative action, but he got into Penn through “affirmative action for the rich.” Donald Trump’s admissions interviewer at Penn was a childhood friend of his older brother, Fred Trump Jr., and his multi-millionaire daddy sat in on the interview. While admissions to Penn are now super-competitive, in 1966 the school accepted 40% of applicants.

Mr. Trump, a ghost to most Wharton classmates, claimed none of Mr. Obama’s Columbia contemporaries ever saw him. Barack Obama went on to graduate from Harvard Law School magna cum laude. Donald Trump has used friends, bribes, and threats to prevent public disclosure of his own high school , Fordham, and U Penn transcripts.

More:

“Trump has referred to his Wharton degree as ‘super genius stuff.’ An admissions officer recalls it differently.” Michael Kranish, Washington Post

“Michael Cohen testimony: Trump, a Wharton alum, told me to threaten colleges to not release grades,” Patricia Madej, Philadelphia Inquirer

“Can Wharton Revoke Trump’s Economics Degree Now?” David Rothkopf, Daily Beast

“Former Wharton Professor: ‘Donald Trump Was the Dumbest Goddam Student I Ever Had.'” FrankDiPrima, DailyKos

Related:

“Donald Trump Jr. mocks college admission scandal, despite his past at Penn,” Oona Goodin-Smith, Philadelphia Inquirer

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Why Frats?

Frats are so … well, fratty. Why do colleges tolerate them? A Vox video by Phil Edwards.

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Pomp and Circumstance: John Waters

Film director John Waters addressed the newly-minted graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) last year. Figures; the school mascot is Scrotie.

Related:

“7 Strange Commencement Speeches,” Erik van Rheenen, Mental Floss

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2017 Coast Guard Academy Commencement Whine

President Donald Trump delivered the commencement speech to the 2017 graduating class of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Faced with young people committed to public service, he spoke about himself,  blaming the messengers for his problems:

“Look at the way I’ve been treated lately – especially by the media.  No politician in history – and I say this with great surety – has been treated worse or more unfairly.”

More:

“Trump Keeps the Focus on Himself in Coast Guard Commencement Address,” Adam K. Raymond, New York Magazine

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Adulterer and Dissembler Speaks to Impressionable Young Christians

On Saturday, renowned sinner and U.S. President Donald J. Trump, flanked by Secret Service agents and 2 Corinthians, gave the commencement speech to graduating students at the world’s largest Christian college, Liberty University. He was introduced by University President Jerry Falwell Jr., the gun-totin’ Christian lawyer famously sired by televangelist and Liberty U. founder Jerry Falwell Sr., who had endorsed Mr. Trump during the election. 1300 LU students and a prominent university board member protested the endorsement.

Even though Mr. Falwell Jr. has encouraged Liberty University students to carry concealed handguns on campus and keep them in their dorms, firearms were not permitted in Lynchburg’s Williams Stadium during commencement exercises. Oh ye of little faith ….

Mr. Trump urged the graduates to adhere to the basic founding principles of our Republic, Christian Nationalism, critic-bashing, and college football. Since 30% of Americans are not Christians, will their citizenship be revoked? And if you’re counting critics, 58% of your neighbors disapprove of the job President Trump is doing. And of course many people prefer the NFL to college football. No wonder Trump is fast-tracking Deportation Force recruiting.

Related:

“At Liberty University, All Sins Are Forgiven on the Altar of Football,” Michael Powell, New York Times

Update:

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Liberty University Mascot: Donald Trump

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., the gun-totin’ Christian lawyer famously sired by televangelist and Liberty U. founder Jerry Falwell Sr., has forgiven admitted sexual predator and GOP candidate Donald Trump, whom he had endorsed. Mr. Falwell says he will vote for Trump even if the sexual assault charges are true. Liberty University students, not that forgiving, are concerned about Mr. Falwell’s defense of the Republican creep:

“While he occasionally clarifies that supporting Trump is not the official position of Liberty University, he knows it is his title of president of the largest Christian university in the world that gives him political credentials.”

“… Donald Trump is not just any politician. He has made his name by maligning others and bragging about his sins. Not only is Donald Trump a bad candidate for president, he is actively promoting the very things that we as Christians ought to oppose.”
— Liberty United Against Trump statement

More:

“Liberty University students protest association with Trump,” T. Rees Shapiro, Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Susan Svrluga and Scott Clement, Washington Post

“Liberty U. Students: ‘Donald Trump & Jerry Falwell Jr. Don’t Represent Us,’” Ian Tuttle, National Review

“Evangelical clash over Trump reverberates at Liberty University,” Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor

“Des étudiants d’une influente université chrétienne rejettent Trump,” Le Figaro

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