Guest Post by Walter E. Williams
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 50 people involved in cheating and bribery in order to get their children admitted to some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities such as Georgetown, Yale, Stanford, University of Texas, University of Southern California and UCLA. They often paid more than $100,000 to rig SAT or ACT exams. In some instances, they bribed college officials and secured their children’s admissions to elite schools through various fraud schemes. As corrupt and depraved as these recent revelations are, they are only the tip of the iceberg of generalized college corruption and gross dishonesty.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 70 percent of white high school graduates in 2016 enrolled in college, and 58 percent of black high school graduates enrolled in college. However, that year only 37 percent of white high school graduates tested as college-ready but colleges admitted 70 percent of them. Roughly 17 percent of black high school graduates tested as college-ready but colleges admitted 58 percent of them.
About 40 percent of college freshmen must take at least one remedial course. To deal with ill-prepared students, professors dumb down their courses so that students can get passing grades. Colleges also set up majors with little or no academic content so as to accommodate students with limited academic abilities. Such majors often include the term “studies”: ethnic studies, cultural studies, gender studies or American studies. The major selected by the most ill-prepared students, sadly enough, is education. When students’ SAT scores are ranked by intended major, education majors place 26th on a list of 38.
One gross example of administrative dishonesty surfaced at the University of North Carolina. A learning specialist hired to help UNC athletes found that 60 percent of the 183 members of the football and basketball teams read between fourth- and eighth-grade levels. About 10 percent read below a third-grade level. These athletes both graduated from high school and were admitted to UNC. More than likely, UNC is not alone in these practices because sports are the money-making center of many colleges.
It’s nearly impossible to listen to college presidents, provosts and other administrators talk for more than 15 minutes or so before the words diversity and inclusion drop from their lips. But there’s a simple way to determine just how committed they are to their rhetoric. Ask your average college president, provost or administrator whether he bothers promoting political diversity among faculty. I’ll guarantee that if he is honest — or even answers the question — he will say he doesn’t believe in that kind of diversity and inclusion. According to a recent study, professors who are registered Democrats outnumber their Republican counterparts by a 12-1 ratio. In some departments, such as history, Democratic registered professors outnumber their Republican counterparts by a 33-1 ratio.
The fact is that when college presidents and their coterie talk about diversity and inclusion, they’re talking mostly about pleasing mixtures of race and sex. Years ago, their agenda was called affirmative action, racial preferences or racial quotas. These terms fell out of favor and usage as voters approved initiatives banning choosing by race and courts found solely race-based admissions unconstitutional. People had to repackage their race-based agenda and call it diversity and inclusion.
Some were bold enough to argue that “diversity” produces educational benefits to all students, including white students. Nobody has bothered to scientifically establish just what those benefits are. For example, does a racially diverse undergraduate student body lead to higher scores on graduate admissions tests such as the GRE, LSAT and MCAT? By the way, Israel, Japan and South Korea are among the world’s least racially diverse nations. In terms of academic achievement, their students run circles around diversity-crazed Americans.
I’m not sure about what can be done about education. But the first step toward any solution is for the American people to be aware of academic fraud that occurs at every level of education.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
I’m surprised that someone like Walter Williams would say “I’m not sure what can be done about education.”
The answer is simple. Get government 100% OUT of education at ALL LEVELS. Get them out of K-12 socialist funding, totalitarian mandatory attendance laws, professional licensure of teachers, certification of schools of “education,” and all vouchers. At the secondary level, this means no government run, taxpayer-subsidized schools, no federally guaranteed student loans, no government/taxpayer funded grants, and nothing to do with accreditation etc. If government is to have ANY ROLE, it should be the prosecution of force or fraud committed by the universities against others. But along with that will need to be any and all federal and state requirements on businesses regarding degrees or certifications for employees, etc. as they might pertain to the current structure.
An easy or painless fix? Of course not. Government tyranny/presence, pervades virtually every microscopic nook and cranny of our lives and our economy. And just look at the damage this presence has caused. But cleaning up education would finally mean that the next generation will not begin its educational experience under the boot of the government, and this will lay a great foundation for a potentially improved future.
My wife went to a 2 room school to the 8 th grade. She had a better education than many college graduates have today. The government agency was a school board composed of parents . Next best thing to home schooling.
Same here, though she was a little behind when she went to high school in the city, but that was just her and not the country school. She relishes both the memories and the values of those times.
That would be revolutionary change and to many students would not be able to attend a private school. The current education system is failing in many counties and states and should be replaced with competent professionals by the Governor or Legislators to set standards that compare to other modern countries. The key to success is choosing staff based on Merit only. Let citizens elect county school boards with limited terms, they collect the school taxes, issue money as Vouchers (as is done in every European country) only to private schools who’s graduates pass the school board’s standards for each type of approved degree, let the parents select their child’s private school, any school not meeting the school board’s education test standards may not receive any taxpayer money. The state would replaced any failed counties with state appointed professionals to bring the county up to standards, and then return the county system to a new county school board.
The government destroyed education and yet you continue to put all of your faith in government agents to somehow fix the problems they caused. Seriously?
Your no government period idea has no chance of ever flying with the government or a majority of parents; it’s a game for you to keep saying no government period just find some other way; but there would be a beggar-man’s education for the millions of kids of poor and middle class parents. Yeah, liberals would still destroy some school systems; but Vouchers would give parents some choice of private schools and it would be a lot better than the 100% government public schools we have now. It would be good to have no Welfare & Social Security, or Dept of Ag or Commerce etc whatsoever, but that could never fly either. Get real and propose a way America can have a no government period, quality education system.
First, you proposal for vouchers maintains the violence, immorality, and theft of the current system. Second, the current system is not a piece of shit simply because the government is in charge of it. It is shit because of all the rules, regulations, requirements, mandates, etc. that are imposed upon it. Do you SERIOUSLY think that vouchers will be handed out without all of those things?? Have you EVER seen a government string that isn’t attached to all of that? Even the GI Bill imposed massive new regulations on colleges that were willing to take the money. Trust me, within a few years (if not immediately), the same crap that ruined the current school system, would ruin every school that took the vouchers (and how many schools would be prevented from REFUSING to take them?) Needless to say, every exclusive school would simply raise their tuition in the amount of the voucher, and countless more would spring up simply to feed off this “new-found” money. Just look at what has happened to the number of colleges and universities since federally-guaranteed student loans, lottery-funded scholarship programs, and the host of other government grants, started showing up on the scene.
My plan? Get government completely OUT of the picture. Let the market come up with their own solutions to getting everyone educated. By that I mean, don’t put limits on the options. Charity schools, home schools, co-ops, neighborhood schools (run by former teachers?), business-sponsored schools (how good would that be for publicity?), on-line, or whatever. Let’s also not forget that everyone would immediately benefit from the absence of school taxes they currently pay out. Of course private voluntary scholarships would be strongly encouraged. Some would want these to be tax-deductible to encourage more donations, but there is the string again. What kinds of paperwork would be required to accept these, etc.?? Many of these private schools could also offer scholarships that wealthier parents might be willing to help fund. Personally I was the beneficiary of such a scholarship during my elementary/junior high school years following my parent’s divorce. When my mom was financially better off, she made donations back to the fund and repaid the full amount.
The cost of private schools will drop right out of the gate. Competition, innovation, and other free-market pressures will virtually guarantee that. The key is that it CAN happen without government. More importantly, it WILL happen, and when children attend school, their parents will finally know that THEY were part of the process, THEY have real power as consumers, and that their children better damn well behave and participate, or they will be out on their ass (another thing that would likely be undermined by government strings).
Doesn’t our future and future generations of kids, deserve some real freedom and quality education for a change?
Also, CASH only, no loans.
Nothing wrong with loans (so long as taxpayer are NEVER on the hook). But obviously they would end up being unsecured, so would be very high interest (so unaffordable by most), and would likely have interest rates based on the future employability of the major selected (in other words, the gender studies major would vanish overnight).
He has said this on many occasions
So why not now? Yes, he has indeed made these points….so why not simply reference his previous comments? You should never leave a reader hanging if you have the answers.
‘I’m from the Government/Academia/Corporate America and I am here to take care of you!
Isn’t she the social worker?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dee_Dee_Blanchard
LOL!
Ho Lee Fuk. That is so sickening. When it comes to your kids, I don’t know how any parent cannot be totally selfless. Not to say the kids should not learn life lessons from their mistakes, or that parents should absolve them, but this is just so, so, disgusting. Reminds me of your post a few weeks ago about the study of folks who get disgusted and those who don’t. I seem to be getting disgusted all the fucking time these days.
HSF,
Is that physiogianomy? I don’t know how to spell it. And I don’t think my spell checker does either. Lol
Physiognomy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiognomy
It has been accepted as reliable by every single culture throughout history with the exception of the Post-Modern Progressives of 21st century Globalism. And they’re only saying they don’t believe it because they think we’re stupid.
Pay $1,000,000 to get a worthless degree, in a worthless major, at a empty worthless college.
Who has spend decades gaining control of the entrance boards? To what end?
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-myth-of-american-meritocracy/
This scandal in university educations is nothing new. The only wrinkle is the universities feeding at and controlling the government trough.
It is a continuum; scam starts just about anywhere in public education then rolls into everyday life in corporations and government.
Someone help me with the logic here for a moment.
A University- an institution that pays NO TAXES and is the recipient of TAXPAYER DOLLARS-hires people to work for them. Like Admissions Officers. These people are specifically hired by this Institution to do a task for them, they are in fact, employees. And the Institution must, as far as I understand the law, have some degree of responsibility for what happens on their dime, on their property, under their direction, and by the people they employ, in order to operate- right? I mean if someone forgets to put a piso de mojado traffic cone on the floor at Wal Mart and some numb-nuts slips and falls, are they not liable? Of course they are, that is the standard by which commerce takes place. Employees are not free agents and they must observe some form of supervision or chain of command. Where, pray tell, were those people? Or do the Admissions staff run their own independent operation? I bet they aren’t subcontractors getting 1099’s, they’re all benefitted and 401K’ed up to their eyeballs in the institution and they don’t fart without answering to some multi-level marketing scheme organizational flow chart full of of mandarins and camarillas, like Scientologists and Herba-Lifers. They weren’t grifting on their own, these people are born and bred organization drones, they were following orders.
Are we being asked to believe that every single person at the University with the sole exception of the guy who snuck the kid in had zero idea that this was taking place? Not one professor asked why the incoming kid with the perfect math SAT didn’t know what an integer was? That no one on the board of directors congratulating the head of admissions for roping in three new gyms, a library expansion and a new dining hall in the course of a year thought to ask, ‘Hey Phil, are you taking bribes or what?’
They want you to believe that all the money coming in was purely good Samaritan donations. They want you to think that despite their air in the nose credentials, myriad degrees, vaunted records, every pedigree, and award imaginable they were blithely unaware that all the new top scoring recruits were fucking retarded. There were kids admitted on athletic scholarships who’d never played the sport. Are the high paid coaches equally clueless? And if all of this is true, what the fuck is everybody paying for exactly?
The Universities having the unmitigated gall to claim the victim status is perhaps the greatest of all the myriad crimes committed here. Everyone knew. Every coach, every adjunct professor, every cafeteria worker knew. These institutions are just another massive money pit. It is a cash extraction system for a criminal elite. It is racketeering taken to a level that would make the mafia weep. It is paid for with your hard earned tax dollars in half a dozen different forms, and your kids are too honest, too white, and too poor to attend anymore because every space is taken up by foreign invaders, affirmative action promotions, wealthy donors kids and the nepotistic detritus of the MegaCorp that is ‘higher education’. We get to mow their campus lawns or serve the co-eds cocktails at the local watering hole, but we don’t get to be part of the criminal syndicate, that’s for the pros. And their muscle, the MSM and the FedGov, they all get to shuffle around with their hhands in their pockets looking at the floor like they were searching for a lost quarter, whistling softly to themselves. They don’t know nuthin’, they didn’t see nuthin’, they didn’t do nuthin’. It all a great big mystery. Must be the celebrity mommy club that’s at the bottom of all this. Next story please.
We live in a giant open air penal colony and it is just going to keep getting worse. More crime, more corruption, more repression, more violence. It’s the only game in town. They aren’t responding to calls for free speech or rights or the Constitution or any of that other high minded bullshit because those things would slow the flow. They control the horizontal, they control the vertical and every single institution under their control is going to be used for the singular purpose of increasing their grip on the reins of power over the great unwashed masses of the dying West.
KABOOM
Wow, I’ve never seen HSF use profanity in any article or comment before. Yeah, I’m pissed off also.
Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit!!
I’m sorry but I simply can’t take the constant and unremitting falsehood of everything. There’s almost nothing left with even a shred of honesty left in it and the worst part is that almost no one can even see it. It’s as we’ve been blinded to it, swimming in a sea of lies.
You don’t have to apologize to me. Men, all men, eventually lose it over all this shiite.
Truth is treason in the empire of lies. Truth is the first casualty when things turn to shit. The collapse is hidden by all the falsehoods.
And if my money wasn’t being constantly taken, along with my rights and my freedoms and my choices, I would happily just sit back and watch all the assholes simply swirl around the drain until they vanished from sight. But alas, that is NOT the case.
HF, my dad stopped following Nebraska football after he realized coach Osborne was bringing in lowlifes and criminals to play on the team. Osborne’s reach included 3 terms as a U.S. representative before returning to U. of N. as the athletic director for five years. That is just one coach at one state university.
Like picking a scab on an infected limb one doesn’t like what is revealed when it comes to colleges and universities. Years ago the athletic department at the university of Colorado had shoeboxes of hundred dollar bills that they used for unaccountable funds for recruiting along with the sex and alcohol scandal.
Look into the University retirement programs as I did where I found out that one state allowed hiring people (like presidents) and paying 3/4 or any amount of service credit, years towards retirement, as an inducement for hire. President completes five years and is eligible for 20 years retirement at 50% of pay. A far loftier pay from the head cafeteria worker to be sure. A university president stepped down after five years and resumed a professorship at another place. Though I am not privy as to what actually happened I can read the rules and see which apply.
hsf, the programming is working-only a couple more sessions and we own you.
Sometimes colorful metaphors are necessary to get the point across!
You fail to see the silver lining!
Like the media, the University cartel has now been exposed en flagrante.
You should be happy. All these fucking leftists are beclowning themselves in full public view. The Average Joe is taking note.
Of course they all knew – including Lynn Swann (who has claimed complete and total ignorance in the matter).
Shit man, classic rant. You are wound tight.
Gotta get you out fishing on the pond. Spring is here, check out that awesome full moon! Smile! You are blessed!
You should have seen the original.
Ok again, hsf, spring is here, check out that awesome full moon, and smile!! I’m worried about you. I’ll be up to purchase some more beef or chicken bones soon. Let me know if you need any extra help, will bring some bone broth.
To hardscrabble,well written and so true ,I simply have noughing to add,bravo.Cheers Crippsy
HSF always says what I want to say, only better.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-20/these-are-top-colleges-sugar-babies
Because no matter how far down you go, there’s always someone willing to keep digging deeper.
Have to laugh at this. During my career I worked with quite a few people who graduated from these universities. I can honestly say that not a single one impressed with with anything more than their arrogance and surface sophistication. Most were – how can I put this? – not leadership material. They usually suffered from an extraordinary lack of guts, usually failed to identity a core problem or opportunity, and usually were disasters in a crisis. They were good at cultivating their superiors and building a resume, however. I am in now in a position to hire senior people and recently turned down a Harvard man because….he was a Harvard man. I would not inflict him on an otherwise hard-working, competent team of people.