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FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

washingtonpost.com

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Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#71

Post by kbenson »

lph wrote: post #64
XCabbage wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Donating a building is a payment to the university . The university then gets to decide to admit your child in return. It may not be meritocratic, but it's not corrupt (except perhaps insofar as by pretending the exchange is a donation, the university and donor manage to cheat the taxman). The donor is simply paying the university to provide a service that they have every right to offer for money. It also benefits ot…

So, to recap, bribing individuals is bad, but bribing the school is fine. Got it.

Yes? Paying someone to go against the best interests of their employer is different than paying the employer directly. Paying a grocery store cashier separately to put aside the best fruits for you is not the same as paying the store extra for a higher grade of fruit.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#72

Post by shaki-dora »

NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

I think the key is not to understand this as a crime against other applicants, or the public, or “fairness.” It’s a crime against the schools.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#73

Post by mikedouglas »

lph wrote: post #64
XCabbage wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Donating a building is a payment to the university . The university then gets to decide to admit your child in return. It may not be meritocratic, but it's not corrupt (except perhaps insofar as by pretending the exchange is a donation, the university and donor manage to cheat the taxman). The donor is simply paying the university to provide a service that they have every right to offer for money. It also benefits ot…

So, to recap, bribing individuals is bad, but bribing the school is fine. Got it.

Placements at the university aren't the property of the individual being paid, so it's illegal in the same way that embezzling funds or stealing trade secrets would be.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#74

Post by rb808 »

fmajid wrote: post #58
XCabbage wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Donating a building is a payment to the university . The university then gets to decide to admit your child in return. It may not be meritocratic, but it's not corrupt (except perhaps insofar as by pretending the exchange is a donation, the university and donor manage to cheat the taxman). The donor is simply paying the university to provide a service that they have every right to offer for money. It also benefits ot…

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s not corrupt.

They're private clubs, not public charities.

One of the reasons people want to go to these schools is because they have lots of resources. If you ban wealthy parents and alumni from donating, the school wont be outstanding, so the University has good reason to accept these.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#75

Post by mcguire »

"Investigators allege the scheme was run largely through Key Worldwide Foundation, which ostensibly was a nonprofit but, according to the FBI, was really a conduit for bribing college employees to get rich kids into elite schools."

Well, it's not like there's truth in advertising:

"We partner with your son or daughter to identify their strengths, unlock their potential, choose the right college, position themselves for admission, and outline a course of study and extracurricular experiences to lead to a life of success." -- http://www.thekeyworldwide.com/

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#76

Post by darkpuma »

rb808 wrote: post #74
fmajid wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s not corrupt.

They're private clubs, not public charities. One of the reasons people want to go to these schools is because they have lots of resources. If you ban wealthy parents and alumni from donating, the school wont be outstanding, so the University has good reason to accept these.

Pragmatically defensible corruption is still corruption.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#77

Post by mcguire »

rb808 wrote: post #74
fmajid wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s not corrupt.

They're private clubs, not public charities. One of the reasons people want to go to these schools is because they have lots of resources. If you ban wealthy parents and alumni from donating, the school wont be outstanding, so the University has good reason to accept these.

Technically, they are public charities.

https://www.aau.edu/sites/default/files/AAU%20Files/Key%20Is...

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#78

Post by dragonwriter »

rb808 wrote: post #74
fmajid wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s not corrupt.

They're private clubs, not public charities. One of the reasons people want to go to these schools is because they have lots of resources. If you ban wealthy parents and alumni from donating, the school wont be outstanding, so the University has good reason to accept these.

> They're private clubs, not public charities.

Actually, they are publicly subsidized (by tax deductibility of donations made to them) because they are private charities.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#79

Post by woah »

bilbo0s wrote: post #23
naveen99 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s different in the scale of the donation. 2 Million dollar donation materially improves things for other students and is tax deductible. $15,000 bribe doesn’t do much for other students except rob them of a spot.

This. A guy donates an engineering complex, and every engineering student on that campus gets to take advantage of said complex and its resources. Guy donates a new business school building and every student on that campus can take advantage of said building and its resources. In exchange, the university lets in two girls, their daughters or whatever, who might want to major in Art History and French, and coincidenta…

What? The building is an asset of the university. They can charge more because they have it. It is not a donation to the students.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#80

Post by mcguire »

save_ferris wrote: post #48
Varcht wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The Justice Department on Tuesday charged more than 30 wealthy people — including two television stars — with being part of a long-running scheme to bribe and cheat to get their kids into big-name colleges and universities."

I think OP means that weren't wealthy enough to make a large public donation through the appropriate channels and instead resorted to bribery. Their legal bills could easily surpass the amount of money exchanged to get their kids into these schools.

The numbers $15,000 and $50,000 were mentioned in the article.
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