By Juan Ibarra/campus editor
The recent admissions scandal shows how lucky TCC students are, while also giving a bleak outlook as they look toward university.
TCC is a good place for students to start. Anyone can come in and take classes for a relatively lower price than going straight into a four-year institution. Whether straight out of high school or back to school after a decade, everyone has the opportunity to have an academic career.
Recently, it has been revealed that a number of wealthy students entering into multiple universities found ways to pay substantial amounts of money in order for admission into those schools. From paying off SAT and ACT proctors to
lying about admissions and saying they have a sports scholarship, the many ways of getting into schools were varied and almost systematically put in place.
“It’s kind of ridiculous because I’m here working and paying for myself to get here, but their parents are just getting them into the big schools,” TR student Peyton Cogdill said.
Students already work hard to reach the goals they make. Some students may even be planning their life around getting into a particular university, however with the scandal bringing things to light, it appears that no matter how hard a student may try they could easily be topped by someone willing to pay more.
“I don’t particularly think it is anything new,” South student Isaiah Thompson said. “Maybe it’s increased in the past years or decades, but I don’t think it’s anything new because wealth is generational,”
Frustration and disappointment come in spades as students look to the colleges they have been planning for and see the injustice that has been done against others who have worked so hard to get in.
Some students believe the parents of the children are who deserve the most blame.
“I don’t think the kids are really at fault as much because the parents are the ones that use their own money to do that,” South student Ashley Anderson said.
However, some of the students who reap the rewards of their parents’ actions might also deserve some of the blame.
“It’s the child’s fault because letting their parents do that, but at the same time, it’s the parent that’s really initiating it,” Cogdill said.
While not directly affecting students at TCC, the ramifications of what this scandal could mean for students moving into those same four-year institutions is a very important issue. Many TCC students plan to do their entry-level courses at TCC but also plan to move onto a larger university.
“I feel like it’s unfair,” TR student Kayla Witt said. “I feel like the people that really deserve it don’t have a chance at anyone seeing their potential and seeing how they actually deserve the spot that they need or want.”
The unfairness at play within this situation has students feeling unsure of their ability to reach those schools not for lack of hard work or trying but rather because others could pay themselves in before and could merely pay their way back in again.
“Colleges are always going to take money from the rich because it’s all a monopoly,” NW student Seth Patton said.
Similarly, students believe this to be nothing new and the cycle of injustice has continued for decade. If people have the money to pay, anything has a price including college admission.
“Especially here in America, we have a history of parents or people paying their way, people who are already established going to these schools,” Thompson said.
Although students don’t seem to believe this malpractice will be changing any time soon, many agree that a punishment should be given to the people who have allowed this to happen for so long.
“I definitely think there should be a fine involved,” Thompson said “I mean, if they have the money to get into these, which from what I heard was some prestigious universities, there should be a fine assessed equal to what was paid in. I don’t know if I would go as far as to say jail time.”
The punishment should fit the crime, according to Thompson. However, students like Anderson believe it to be a lost cause and most financial punishments wouldn’t do much.
“I don’t think fines are going to do anything because they have the money to pay it,” Anderson said. “They’re just going to be like, ‘OK, fine. That’s like $10 for me,’”
The biggest takeaway from this is the impact it could have on the future and whether this scandal will be forgotten in the next few months or if it’s going to have a lasting change on the educational admissions departments across the U.S.
“People will forget about it like every other thing that gets exposed because everyone is ‘fake woke’ and only care in the moment, and they want nothing to do with long term action.” Patton said.
As more news on the scandal comes out every day, it won’t take long to figure out if there will be lasting change. All there is for students to do is hope and to keep trying as hard as possible to remain competitive to reach the heights necessary for their education.
