Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Slam Parents Implicated In College Cheating Scandal
A number of prominent Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have slammed parents implicated in what the DOJ has called the “biggest” college cheating scandal it has ever prosecuted.
The college admissions scheme revealed Tuesday features 50 defendants across six states, nearly $25 million in funneled money, and some of the country’s most prestigious universities, including Yale, Georgetown, and Stanford, as reported by CNN. The man at the center of the scandal is William Rick Singer, who was helping parents cheat on SATs and ACTs for their kids, while at the same time also using his connections with coaches and administrators to get kids into schools using fake credentials.
Two prominent Hollywood actresses — Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin — are among the 33 parents arrested by the Justice Department.
Speaking to Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said that she has “zero” sympathy for parents like Huffman and Loughlin who have been charged in the case. Warren said the parents broke laws to get their children into colleges they didn’t deserve and must be punished accordingly.
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was more brazen in her attack against the parents buying their kids college seats. Comparing such parents to politicians who leverage money and connections to get a “spot” in Washington, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that such practices put people with merit at risk.
“I guess college admissions isn’t that different from elections, where lots of money can buy your spot too. Also, an enviro where those who make it despite the odds are suspected to not have ‘earned’ it, not truly belong, or assumed to not be able to perform at the same level.”
Latest on Operation Varsity Blues:
-Lori Loughlin expected to turn herself in today
-Bond for Felicity Huffman
-Ringleader pleaded guilty, accused of taking $25M in bribesTV Moms and CEOs charged in alleged college admissions scheme: https://t.co/euuTew1gJb @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/evk4TCDfXd
— Linda Stouffer (@LindaWSB) March 13, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez’s response came in part to tweets which noted that the wealthy people manipulating the U.S. educational system were the same people who were against affirmative action, according to Newsweek. The aim of affirmative action is to help under-represented minorities get access to leading educational institutions, which, in many cases, overlook such students.
Reminder: Harvard admits more white students with legacy preferences than the total number of black students admitted each year. And that’s for being *related* to privilege, not even counting the kids whose parents just purchased their admission.
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) March 12, 2019
The college admissions scandal, one of the largest of its kind case being prosecuted by the Justice Department, has seen Loughlin, Huffman, and several high-profile business executives being indicted. These parents would work with Singer to pay copious amounts of money to recruit their children into universities’ sports team, despite them not being athletes.
It remains to be seen if these parents are eventually implicated, but as of now, they can be certain of not receiving sympathy from anyone for their crimes.
