Anyone who would like to get a fuller reaction of how people have reacted to this story can check out the thread I’ve linked on metafilter. That conversation went in a decidedly different direction.
1 Like
Totally agree! Here are the conclusions from the Rhodes Committee…
Specific examples and evidence abound.
1 Like
Unfortunately, there is a temptation to embellish in the current college admissions landscape.
I know of an individual who refused support from the father and extended family members during a difficult relationship with the mother. After less than stellar graduation application results, claiming victimhood, this student reapplied with a strategic, altered story and was admitted to previously denied programs in addition to more competitive ones. Faculty members who were privy to only one side were extremely supportive and extended advantageous connections. Incidentally, this student had the support of paid psychotherapy for years as well as extended family members who were repeatedly rebuffed.
When admissions uncovers evidence of misrepresentation, examples need to be made. Hardships should always be considered when reviewing applicants in context, but there will be some who attempt to take advantage.
I am not in the position to know all the facts in this particular case, but provable misrepresentation should be discouraged.
I think the definition of deservedness in regard to college and graduate admissions needs to be re-examined. Oxbridge readily consider socioeconomic context, but verifying academic qualifications via a standardized grading system and interviews remains paramount.
3 Likes
2 Likes
I found this statement in the Rhodes report to be the most thought provoking:
“MF and her lawyers argue that MF has ‘constructed not a narrative about herself for the purpose of deceiving others, but an identity for herself for the purpose of giving her the strength and stability she needs to thrive despite the many, protracted traumas of her childhood’”
Feels ominously like the narrative of “that’s ‘my truth’ and you can’t question it”, which was a core part of the debate over Meghan and Harry’s interview last spring (notably at the exact same time this investigation was taking place).
Although the investigation was done by the US Rhodes Trust trustees, the attitude that truth isn’t absolute (and is instead based on “lived experience”) is much less acceptable in the UK than the US and to my mind is reflected in the references in the report to “truth” as the “core Rhodes selection criterion”.
4 Likes
So, Amy Gutman moves on from being President of UPenn to being US Ambassador to Germany. Interesting development. . .
@Bill_Marsh It’s well-known that Penn and Gutmann have close ties to Biden. Gutmann worked with the Obama WH on public health policy. At Penn, Biden was the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor and also established the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. Gutmann is a thoughtful leader who is proud of her German heritage—she will be an excellent ambassador.
1 Like
One hopes that posting this very old news will not derail this thread.
3 Likes
While it is clear that the young lady embellished her background story to the point of being untruthful, the Rhodes investigation was done without the benefit of the expunged police reports.
I have no issue with the ultimate decision of the Rhodes Committee as there are too many inconsistencies in the applicant’s story to justify honoring her with such a prestigious award as being designated a Rhodes Scholar. But I do question the motives of the University of Pennsylvania investigation.
The DocumentCloud filing presents one side as the Plaintiff’s Complaint was not included. Also missing are hospital records,police reports,social welfare agency reports, and any meaningful “verification” of the Defendant’s “verified response”.
Facts remain that the young lady was hospitalized for a considerable length of time with serious injuries. The mother claims the injuries occurred while she was trying to remove gum from her daughter’s hair and the daughter fell down two or three stairs. A nurse stated that she washed dried blood out of the young lady’s hair while in the hospital. The young lady was placed in the foster care system after evaluations by social workers and other authorities.
I am troubled by a prosecutor declaring that filing charges (2 felonies & 1 misdemeanor) against the prominent physician mother was the worst mistake of his career. Such a statement will almost certainly aid the University of Pennsylvania in its defense against the young lady’s lawsuit. Funny things happen when big money & powerful entities & individuals get sued.
I would like to read the Plaintiff’s (the young lady) Complaint in this matter.
Because the Rhodes Committee investigation was done without the benefit of the police reports and,presumably,the social welfare agency’s reports, I do not give it absolute value beyond the findings that the young lady was less than truthful in her application for a Rhodes Scholarship.
To me, it seems clear that the young lady is troubled and has suffered parental abuse to the point of requiring hospitalization. One young lady against a prominent physician and a wealthy, powerful educational institution–both of which have serious assets at stake – and a major city’s most powerful law firm is the current situation. Neither plaintiffs nor defendants are expected to be without flaws and this is certainly true in this case.
Again, I have no problem with the decision of the Rhodes Committee to withdraw the Rhodes Scholar award, but I do question the timing and purpose of the actions by the University of Pennsylvania and the prosecutor. Had the prosecutor not labeled filing charges against the prominent physician mother as the worst mistake of his career, then I would not be suspicious of his motive and of his decision to drop the charges.
2 Likes
A consequence of this case may be elite schools expecting more concrete documentation supporting applicants’ claims, of either extraordinary accomplishments or terrible obstacles. I was always surprised at how much schools rely upon the honor system in applications. It would seem exceptional situations would have corroboration from school officials or other adults. Not just for sob stories-the students in the Varsity Blues cases exaggerating their athletic achievements should have had to submit documentation as well.
1 Like
In that particular case, the athletic directors/coaches had been paid off, so documentation wouldn’t have mattered.
But to your earlier point - it does seem like the honor system is showing cracks. Fueled in good part, I think, by the perception that you need to have an extraordinary background - whether one of accomplishments or obstacles - to get into an “elite” school. Of course, those schools feed into that perception by constantly celebrating cases like Ms. Fiercton’s.
7 Likes
Why? If a prosecutor knows he made a mistake, isn’t it in the public interest that he admits it? Clearly the additional evidence was compelling enough for him to reverse his initial judgment.
3 Likes
I am glad her former classmates pointed out the misrepresentations. Some kids truly do suffer terribly in foster care, and to appropriate their trauma for one’s personal gain is reprehensible.
2 Likes
Sadly I think the Whitfield school shares responsibility for not halting the woman’s undergraduate applications-the school was aware she had not “grown up” in foster care, and that she certainly did not have a special needs sibling who she was helping to support ( or any sibling, actually).
3 Likes
Why would the school have been expected to review her Questbridge essay (or indeed her Penn essay) if she hasn’t asked them to do so (which presumably she didn’t)? The school gave her a scholarship for senior year based on estrangement from her mother, but even that wouldn’t require detailed enquiries into the specifics of the case, given that she was in foster care by then.
1 Like
Small and expensive private schools maintain good relations with elite colleges by vouching for their students, in both college and scholarship applications. The counselor would have submitted a statement in support. Exclusive schools do review the student’s essays. At schools with abundant resources ( like Whitfield), the counselor’s statement can be very important to colleges and Questbridge in sifting through many applications.
3 Likes
I thought the document-defendant’s answer - included each paragraph of the complaint. Am I wrong about that? It did not include the exhibits, which included the medical records.*
I think it is interesting how they thread the needle. It isn’t Rhodes or Penn’s job to prove abuse happened. They just had to confirm the applications were sufficiently inaccurate to warrant the consequences imposed. I am not sure what Penn’s standards are, or it’s history of discipline for such cases. But the applications were materially inaccurate beyond “embellishments” or writing with flair. The rest of the drama - the impact of her being a witness in other litigation, the level of abuse, the bias of the reporting, who was the anonymous email was from, doesn’t matter.
Assuming the institutions applied discipline to her the same as they would to anyone, that’s enough to close the book and move on. I hope they did, stripping a student of a degree/scholarship based on a fraudulent application is reasonable. Even if she was abused, that is not an excuse- especially since her lying took away an opportunity and funds from someone else who didn’t lie. She is lucky Penn doesn’t sue her to get the financial aid money back.
*ETA: For the lawyers out there - isn’t it weird to attach medical records to a verified complaint? Maybe it is a jurisdictional thing, but that’s not how it’s done around these parts. Not just because of privacy concerns, but because of pleading standards. Those medical records and police reports don’t have anything to do with the complaint and will cause her problems to have included them in a complaint. It is a side note/technicality, but it speaks to the caliber of her representation and her motivation, imo.
5 Likes
Without medical records, how can you state that these are “facts”. Perhaps her ‘lengthy’ hospitalization was unrelated to any alleged physical abuse?
Don’t forget that the local DA was in Missouri. And even tho mom was a “prominent doctor” I find it hard to believe that a local prosecutor would bend that easily (unless mom was related to a local, powerful family, for which there are no facts in evidence).
3 Likes