The college cheating scandal is the tip of the iceberg | By journalist and historian David Perry for CNNOpinion
David M. Perry is a journalist and historian. He's the senior academic adviser to the history department at the University of Minnesota. Follow him on Twitter. The views expressed here are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.
"We're not talking about donating a building, we're talking about fraud," said Andrew Lelling, the US Attorney for Massachusetts, as he announced indictments in a massive scheme alleging that celebrities and other wealthy individuals used cheating, bribes, and lies to get their kids into elite colleges.
David M. PerryThe behavior described in this alleged fraud should be punished. But on a broader and more basic level, the case also sheds light on deep inequities in our college admissions system. Because if someone can get their kid into Harvard by buying a building, let alone by committing any of the alleged acts emerging from this case, the scandal isn't just what's illegal, but what's legal as well. The accusations are shocking enough.
FBI: Parents paid up to $6.5M for guaranteed admission 00:51But the other part of the current cheating scam is even more pernicious and focused on testing. Through Singer, parents are alleged to have bribed officials administering standardized tests in a number of ways. Some just provided answers. Others allowed substitutions, so a more academically gifted student would take the test in the name of the defendant's child.
Actresses Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman charged in college cheating scheme 04:26According to the transcript released by the Justice Department, Singer told Caplan,"What happened is, all the wealthy families that figured out that if I get my kid tested and they get extended time, they can do better on the test. So most of these kids don't even have issues, but they're getting time. The playing field is not fair."I know the playing field isn't fair.
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