Ep. 71: Journalist Albert Lanier on the College Admissions Scandal and Diploma Mill Skullduggery

Lori Loughlin, known as pop culture's beloved Aunt Becky on the hit 90s sitcom Full House, has been in the news lately, alongside Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman, for being embroiled in a college admissions bribery scandal. But the story of this scandal is not limited to these two higher-profile celebrities and is a deep case of privilege and corruption in America's New Gilded Age. Joining us on this edition of Parallax Views is returning guest and veteran journalist Albert Lanier to unpack the whole shameful affair, including the Operation Varsity Blues investigation that has brought it to light, and discuss the adjacent scandal of diploma mill skullduggery.

 

 We begin the show by discussing how Albert Lanier got the news of "Collegegate" and why, unlike many, he was taken surprise by the college admissions bribery scandal. Albert explains how he was previously interested in the skullduggery of diploma mills and how he sees the college admissions scandal in a broader context. Additionally, he points out the impacts a higher education can have on one person's life and why the parents embroiled in this scandal were willing resort to illegal activities to ensure that their children received that education.

We then begin to discuss the relation of class and privilege to college admissions and this scandal in particular. Albert discusses the various ways in which the wealthy "rig" the system for their kids and focuses especially on how this is done with athletics. Albert discusses in-depth the concept of "the preferences of privilege" outlined by Daniel Golden in The Price of Admission.

We then change topics to another bit of education skullduggery in the form of diploma mills. Albert explains how he became interested in this specific issue and what its impacts are. Albert highlights how these diploma mills operate and a bit of their history. In addition he also tells us about the investigations that have sought to expose diploma mills scams. During this portion of the conversation we also discuss Trump University in relation to the broader problems of higher education.

Albert Lanier

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