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kellyshaw-dcim · 6 years ago

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#CollegeAdmissionScandal

By: Kelly Shaw

I am a junior at Rutgers University, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Digital Communication, Information, and Media.

Using a Hashtag to Unite a Movement

The College Admission Scandal involves the charging of fifty elite class citizens and celebrities in a brazen scheme to buy spots into the freshman classes at pristine American universities. In the wake of this scandal, students, teachers, and parents have gathered and connected online to display their animosity towards the individuals responsible. While a number of people admitted that they were completely appalled by this cheating situation, most individuals claimed that they were ultimately not surprised by the scandal.

Due to our intensely-growing technologies, we are able to virtually collaborate and engage with people from around the world through a variety of social networking platforms. When individuals post content online with this hashtag attached to it, they automatically become connected to the community of others who did the same. Although people may be posting for diverse reasons, they are able to communicate and raise awareness with people who share the same passion and goals.

Examples of the Hashtag

The examples of the hashtag #CollegeAdmissionScandal show the frustration from individuals who do not have the same power of influence due to wealth. Online users are actively showing their disappointment towards these narcissistic parents and students who thought it was ethical to steal spots away from deserving students who worked their whole lives to get into elite schools.

People took aim online to claim this scandal as disgraceful in that every day, people of color are made to feel as though they don’t belong in these top universities, or that the only reason they earned their spot was due to the color of their skin. Many social media users argued that this scandal is a prime example of white privilege existence. They claimed that people of color miss out on opportunities that others can simply purchase.

While many users took to social media to display their outrage on this scandal, others opted for a more humorous approach, in that they brought a sense of humor to the hashtag’s content.

This picture is making a joke out of the Court appearance of Lori Loughlin, who played a lead role in the hit series Full House.

This is a photo-shopped image of two well-known celebrities accused of playing a part in the College Admission Scandal.

Who does this affect?

This scandal can potentially affect any individual involved in the process of applying or searching for colleges to attend. It has made current high school students question their ability to get into their dream schools due to their lack of financial comfort. People will no longer be able to trust the involved universities as they did in the past because this scandal has proved that money is truly their top priority. Parents and students have most definitely lost respect for these universities and the celebrities involved in the case

What do current students have to say?

“While I am not surprised, I am appalled that this has been going on for years and that parents and people with money feel the entitlement they do. Thousands of students across the country, myself included, work tirelessly at several jobs, are heavily active in their communities, and maintain high and REAL grades and scores just to have a sliver of a chance to be accepted to our dream school, and to be able to afford it without an enormous amount of student debt.”— Emily Sedlak, Carlisle Pennsylvania

“Heart-wrenching human indecency — absolute disregard for the law or for the students of America— utter disrespect for themselves and their children — all accurate ways to describe the parents, administrators, and coaches that were active participants in the college entry fraud scandal … These parents stole opportunities from students who were deserving of better, and frankly, I am appalled to say that I’m not surprised in the slightest.” — Nicole Hudak, Lakewood, OH

“Families travel to the United States in hope for better opportunities for them and their children, students work hard long, hours to bring up their grades and prepare for tests, yet many of these students don’t get into the schools of their choice. It is horrible to think that these innocent people lost their chance to someone who didn’t get into the school fairly.” — Anya Finlay, Masterman, Philadelphia, PA

“Students work hard to get into college. They constantly push to achieve their dreams. They sacrifice time, sleep, and even their passions just to get where they want to go.

Sometimes they don’t get in. It’s sad, but it happens, and it often means that the person who did get in worked harder, and that the person who didn’t get in might need to work harder. That’s fair.

What isn’t fair is a hardworking student not getting into the school of their dreams because they weren’t born with deep pockets.

That’s unfair.” — Thomas D., J.T. Hoggard High School

These posts demonstrate clear resentment towards the citizens involved in this scandal because majority of people in this country would never have the chance to be put into this situation in the first place. Rich kids with wealthy parents are being taught how to cheat their way into getting what they want, rather than working hard and making sacrifices for achieving their goals. The people lashing out on social media are not afraid to admit the shame in this public embarrassment.

The Result

(How does this hashtag help?)

This hashtag has helped unite people who have gotten into their dream universities without the help of their parents’ financial standing, as well as the people who didn’t get into top schools for this very reason. This hashtag has also helped spread awareness to individuals across the country as an effort to prevent these unacceptable behaviors from occurring again. It educates people into recognizing that cheating is not morally correct and there are serious consequences for skirting the law or manipulating the system.

Sources

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-the-college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvAWdSnHUoJ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7L1k9B1Bw/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu88KwBngJg/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu_dOGAFwc8/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu_g2AIAs4o/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu-K79Kl8Kh/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6744dA0Z7/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7mhywnTaS/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvAf15fA8Ro/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvCQtzMBSGE/

https://twitter.com/UsmcGirl3381/status/1123011761882447872

https://twitter.com/MorganMWhitley/status/1120737948582989825

https://twitter.com/readyreader7/status/1123766650279481346

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