As a former prosecutor, when I saw that Felicity Huffman received a sentence of 250 hours of community sentence, 14 days jail time, a $30,000 fine and one year’s probation for paying $15,000 to Rick Singer to boost her daughter’s SAT test scores for college entrance, I was outraged but not surprised. Huffman knowingly admitted to paying Singer. She knew her actions were wrong and illegal. Her case was part of the largest college scandal case in history prosecuted by the Justice Department. Actress Lori Loughlin decided to enter a plea of not guilty. She paid $500,000.00 to advance her daughter’s college entrance. Her case is pending. After today’s sentencing, Loughlin may breathe a sigh of relief. White defendants and particularly white celebrity defendants most always get a break in court sentencing. A one -month sentence recommendation by prosecutors is usually never heard of. As a former prosecutor, I recall a minimum jail sentence recommendation by prosecutors is … [Read more...] about Felicity Huffman is the Ultimate Case of White Privilege
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College Admissions Scandal Goes to Court
On Wed. April 3, defendants Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman and other lesser known celebrities and parents will appear in a federal court in Boston to appear before a judge at their preliminary hearing. The two actresses along with more than 30 other individuals are charged with crimes of using money to gain admission to elite colleges for their children in amounts up to over $1 million. In some alleged instances, the defendants paid a bogus charity to fake athletic activities, cheat on college entrance exams and through other nefarious means to gain college acceptance. The old fashion way of study hard, get good grades and/or work hard at athletics wasn't working for them. So they chose the side door entrance. It’s one thing for actors to use celebrity status and money to gain admission into exclusive parties and events via the side door. It’s quite another thing to use celebrity status and money to fake their children’s test scores and school activities to gain admission into … [Read more...] about College Admissions Scandal Goes to Court
College Cheating Scam and White Privilege
The largest college cheating admissions scam was announced today by the U.S. attorney's office in Massachusetts with over 50 persons being charged including actress Felicity Huffman, college coaches, SAT administrators, exam proctors and 33 parents. Parents involved paid upwards of over $6.5 million for their children to be admitted to various elite schools including Yale, Georgetown, Wake Forest and others. It was the ultimate example of wealth and privilege being used to secure the futures of the teens involved. The end result is what many minorities and persons of color expected for a long time. The system is rigged in terms of wealth and privilege. Every parent should teach their children to refrain from lying, cheating and stealing. When the parents lie, cheat and steal for their children to gain admission to prestigious U.S. schools with or without the child’s knowledge, it shows what many persons of color have already suspected all along—that some white privileged children … [Read more...] about College Cheating Scam and White Privilege
States Seek to Strengthen Rape Reporting on College Campuses
Laws to strengthen reporting of sexual assaults on college campuses are being considered in several states. So far, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island have introduced bills which would require in some instances that police be notified of campus rapes and sexual assaults. Virginia’s bill HB 1343 would require that once a victim reports a sexual assault to campus or local law enforcement that the local Commonwealth’s Attorney be notified in 48 hours of the incident. The bill, according to those in support of it, has everything to do with ensuring tighter collaboration between sexual assault victims on colleges, college security, police and prosecutors. On many college campuses in Virginia and elsewhere in the U.S., often times, sexual assaults are not reported to the police by the victim or campus police. A report by the Department of Justice found that of college rape and sexual assault cases only 20% of students report rapes and sexual assaults to the … [Read more...] about States Seek to Strengthen Rape Reporting on College Campuses