Oboes, Guatemala, and university acceptance scandals: How are these things connected? What is this situation, and where, if anywhere, can we go from here? See http://worksnewage.blogspot.com/2019/04/admissions-at-top-colleges-oboes.html.
How is it that the person who got the bribes was tried more quickly than those who paid them? To my way of looking at it, unless he actively solicited the bribes he is much less culpable than the parents who showered cash to get their little darlings into a school they were not qualified for.
1
So... "I cheated to win the Olympics but gave the physical medal away" is now ok?
There have been college coaches who covered up sexual assault by their players who got less punishment than this guy. He kept zero dollars for himself. I don’t agree with the actions but the level of punishment for him seems fine by me. Now, the parents who paid the bribes, they deserve jail time.
As a blue collar Millennial, I'm somehow too cynical to find this scandal surprising, yet too much of a rube to simply accept it as the way the world works. It is, obviously. But my god, is there no end to the lies we poor people are told growing up? When I applied to colleges, I actually believed meritocracy existed to some extent. I was shocked when I realized how many of my classmates "earned" their spots through the slower, entirely above-board version of this nonsense: legacy admissions, parent-funded tutoring for the SATs/ACTs and entire admissions process, pricy hobbies and extracurricular activities that "look great on college applications," etc.
What a remarkable society we'd have, if everyone had to work as hard as poor kids to obtain their education and career. Instead, we have one that enables and rewards mediocrity at every turn. We can't be surprised by this verdict, nor the actions of the parties involved. I'm sure the prosecutor, defendant, and judge got where they are today consistently being held to lower standards than their disadvantaged peers. Otherwise, they'd be better at their jobs.
16
Non-violent crime. No individual directly injured. No previous criminal history. Where I live, poor people in such circumstances typically get probation and, if appropriate, sent to some diversion program. Mr Vandemoer totally realizes the wrongness of what he did. His job loss and the financial implications of such seem like adequate punishment. He certainly is not a threat to re-offend.
13
@mjerryfurest
But he's a white man and lives comfortably, those facts alone deeply offend many NYT readers! We must make an example of him!
3
We are a Stanford family: me, my husband, our daughter, my sister, going way back to an uncle who earned an engineering degree in 1921. We all got in the hard way, with excellent test scores and grades and examples and references attesting to values that could contribute to a school of this stature. We relied on scholarships, "hashed" in the dorms, and had summer jobs. Like so many other alumni, we are cringing at the behavior of coach Vandemoer and the university, which is reprehensible.
As other comments have noted, it is apparently difficult to determine the legal distinction between a "donation" and a bribe. (Really???) So I hope that my classmates will put long-term pressure on college administrations and legislators to overhaul this system - which I am sure is rampant in far less prestigious schools. We're just reading about the ones that got caught.
I do have to take exception to some of the comments here, and constant media references, to these universities as the province only of privileged white kids. Sadly, we live in a culture where white and rich too often trumps (both lower case and capital T) other racial, ethnic and socioeconomic classes. But many of these hoity toity universities, including Stanford, have a surprisingly diverse body of students who were admitted on their own merit and are supported by a broad spectrum of contributors. So let's fix this without stooping to generalizations that tar everyone with the same brush!
22
@Erda
"[Universities using diversity quotas for affirmative action] have a surprisingly diverse body of students who were admitted on their own merit"
[citation needed]
Affirmative action is racism, the direct opposite of merit-based admissions.
2
@Erda You are mixing "white" with "Asian" as these were Asians.
1
We know at least a handful of students who were not brillant at all who were admitted into several Ivy League institutions : Yale, Cornell, Harvard, and others.
It just happens by coincidence that the parents are very rich and famous.
Everything is for sale in the USA .
Here several corrupt transactions were caught, in different universities, and they want to pretend that it was just coincidence and that the admission offices, and the institutions, did not know about it ?
16
Let the air out of the "best colleges" racket and corrupt incentives: bar employers from considering the college an applicant attended.
Stanford's applications will plummet and junior colleges will become the elite institutions.
6
Rich, white, and male, works like charm every time.
41
I tell my son every day and he's won the lottery being those very things
2
Now if he can get his book deal signed it will be perfect!! It's the "trump" paradigm: CRIME PAYS!!
10
@Matthew
He probably has the best book deal lawyer, go on tv look sad etc , we have seen this play a hundred times. Story plot always the same
1
Vandemoer is the only person I feel real sympathy for. He was wrong and he knew it, but he wasn't being selfish for himself or his own family. The 'family' he wanted to help was his team. Now he has accepted his punishment like a mature adult, and should be allowed to move on with his life.
Next case, please.
21
1) He should be in prison
2) He should be fired.
3) Another reason to stop all "pro" college sports.
1
Is this guy a threat to society. No.
wrong. next one will be cheating to get a medical degree.
If you wear a tie, are white, and connected to the right people, there is no crime. If you are a minority and caught with a small bit of cocaine, you will serve real time. Justice is truly not blind.
3
This, simply, is outrageous and a travesty of the judicial process. I suppose the next round of all these white collar criminals will walk as well.
1
So, he's grounded?
2
It's a strange headline and a strange crime. The only possible victim is the university, so how can they escape blame? The students competing for admissions can't be victims, because it isn't their slot to give, it's the university's. The university's admissions process is here being undermined and while other prospective students feel undermined here, they couldn't get standing. It's completely the university's decision, and since they allow admission for $1mil donations, that's the only possible way to scope the crime - which they would deny as value anyway, since it looks a bit seedy.
1
Justice? In the USA?
Not even a goal.
The president of that country has defrauding contractors he hired as a standard operating policy. He has been bankrupt (on every level!) repeatedly. He lies constantly, about basically everything.
With an example like that at the top, don't look for justice anywhere else.
2
Jail time is inappropriate... deep restitution to those applicants in true need who were displaced and extensive communitity service time are both clear steps which serve all in a positive manner.
Contrast this story and the outcome of a criminal trial to that of some recent profile of a factory worker in any-time-zone America who lost their job after 20+ years of hard work because the domestic industry faded, the plant closed and the company executives live elsewhere while sending their kids to elite institutions.
In all the coverage I have read about this affair since the beginning I have never seen it pointed out that kids with enough sailing background to even use it as an asset to get into an elite school are almost by definition at least upper middle class. Sailing classes are expensive and to be truly competitive it is necessary that the kid or her family possess their own sailboat. Yet another tiresome saga in the tribulations of the privileged.
12
That big donors to universities have received preferential treatment for their children has been part of the university culture for decades, possibly centuries. He did not pocket the money. It went to the school. That the school used it to buy boats is immaterial. Without that donation, the school would have to pay for the boats from other funds, or curtail the sailing program.
Vandemoer did exactly as schools have always done. Being singled out for punishment as a result is what was unfair.
17
@Austin Liberal: Are you kidding me? He did something wrong, pal. This was deliberate and with malice afore-thought.
He knew it was wrong, and he did it anyway.
Because it’s been done for centuries does not make a wrong right.
High school and college sports programs are wickedly corrupt everywhere—and you can multiply that times 10 in Texas.
.
28
Stanford has very high academics, but also likes to brag about how many sports championships they have. I completely don't understand why spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a sport no one watches and only the very rich can afford to do belongs in a university even if no "bribes" are involved. The broader discussion is why star athletes, whether in major or minor sports deserve a spot over a brilliant high school student who isn't an athlete.
64
@Jerry S
Because athletes are a tremendous source of alumni donations. The clumsy, the nerds, the non-athletes live vicariously through sports and all those Stanford championships are meaningful to them. And Stanford gets to brag about all their student-athletes who are supposedly there to actually graduate and get degrees as opposed to the so-called "student athletes" at other colleges/universities who actually serve as "farm teams" for the pros and where there's only a semblance of being a "student".
1
My son is one of those athletes recruited to Stanford that you feel doesn’t deserve to be there. I guess putting in the thousands of hours to be one of the best in the country in his sport while maintaining an A average AND scoring in the 99 percentile in standardized testing isn’t good enough for you. He took a spot away from someone more deserving who spent all of their free time in ACT/SAT boot camp instead.
5
@Jan Matejka
And so, did he get into Stanford because he was a brilliant student, or because he could be one of those athletes Stanford and the alumni could subsequent brag about?
And yes, maybe he did take the place of a student who, while perusing the same intellectual credentials, was working part-time to support his family, without free time to develop his athletic prowess.
And why should I have to remind you of this possibility - can’t you understand how the rest of us sense your comments suggest thinking “inside the bubble” ?
10
As a Stanford Alum from a middle class family who busted my butt to get in, worked during school and obtained a scholarship I still have one elementary unanswered question. Why would someone who has sailing skills get preferential admission treatment to begin with? Does sailing really add to the school in any meaningful way, to society, to anyone except the few elite who sail competitively?
112
@Mitchell Karin
Dear Mitch
Stanford along with Rice, Northwestern and Duke are considered elite colleges outside the Ivy League. It's interesting the last 3 were not involved in hanky panky.
I personally know one of the higher ups at NWU and there isn't anyone with more integrity than her. I find it interesting that California two other elite schools USC and UCLA got caught in this as well.
USC has had a number of violations of recruiting over the last half century. So this scandal is expected given its transgressions in the past. I think it just indicates the whole moral decay that permeates a lot of the academic programs of USC including payoffs to sons of politicians to the scandalous behavior of the head of the medical school.
I still consider the icing on the cake was Olivia Jade Mossimo was on the yacht of the head of USC's board of trustees when this scandal broke.
Indeed the rich and powerful live different lives than most working folks. Occasionally something like this brings them down to our level.
Perhaps Stanford might give up their yachting program and use the money to have a compulsory ethics course for everyone.
15
@Mitchell Karin
As a Stanford alum with a similar background, I agree with you. There should have been no preferential admission treatment for alleged sailing skills for a student from a financially elite background. Stanford is not a victim under the circumstances and is fully complicit. Preferential admission policies for athletics should be done away with. The reputational damage for Stanford is enormous.
20
@Mitchell Karin
Not every competitive sailor is “elite”. My husband and I are very much working class people that have given everything we can to assist our daughter in her chosen sport, sailing. It has taught her independence, perseverance, and discipline. It has helped shape who she is. My daughter worked her tail off at one of the top public high schools in the country and graduated with top grades (4.75 GPA) and ACT score. She has worked just as hard with her sailing, training both on and off the water to be one of the top youth female sailors. She, like you will also work during school (there are no scholarships for sailing, it is not allowed). Sailing has been key to spark her drive for the environment and the necessity to protect it. Where will she be going to school?.... I’m very proud to say Stanford.
9
It sends a dismaying message to the broad public when convicted defendants who inhabit elite worlds are sentenced by federal judges to serve no or scant jail time, while contrastingly lower class defendants face years of prison ....
The message it sends to the elite is even more disturbing: on the very rare chance you are caught and convicted of a federal crime, the punishment won’t be harsh ....
BP
140
@William M. Palmer, Esq.
The moneyed donors are the elite. Vandemoer worked for a living.
2
@Austin Liberal
By accepting the "donation" knowing that the so-called athlete-sailor has hardly had any sailing experience, he is abetting the crime. He may work for a living (as many of us do) but as the coach of a sports programme in an elite university, he is surely very well-paid.
2
At the base of this are crimes committed by the wealthy and privileged. As such, and as typical, our justice system does not hold them accountable.
191
@Leo: thank you for this PERTINENT reminder!
'tis quite outrageous to see the
double/triple/quadruple standards at work here.
they have been taken for granted. for centuries.
9
The well-off protecting the well-off.
Another slap on the wrist for financial misdeeds. The bigger the (financial) crime, (are you hearing this, Wall Street) the less likely it is you’ll get any meaningful punishment.
But for the rest of us, it’s ‘three strikes’ and off to some hell-hole prison to be brutalized my inmates and guards the rest of our lives.
Equal Justice Under Law.? Bah!
1
This is why we need mandatory minimum prison sentences for white collar crimes.
Our elites, ranging from wealthy parents trying to get their kids into college to drug-pushing pharmaceutical executives to Wall Street and tech titans who bat not an eye at wrecking whole communities and industries to make a buck, have lost all moral compass. The only thing that will bring them to heel is the threat of prison.
24
You got to be kidding me. Minimum sentencing guidelines for Federal crimes destroys communities and families for decades. The idea advanced in these comments that somehow we need to excessively punish white males for the sentencing injustices inflicted historically on Black communities demonstrates retribution and in no way reflects balance. This man who did not personally profit, who accepted checks made payable to Stanford, and whose actions did not result in any applicants attending Stanford is now a convicted felon and has been paraded by the media as a pariah; a central character to a coordinated fraud. He was none of those things. At most he was a fool.
4
On the culpability of the university two adages come to mind:
"It all begins at the top." and "The buck stops here." Sure, employees can act against company policy, but those at the top are responsible for establishing and maintaining the culture.
8
Convicted of taking bribes.
Served ONE day in jail.
Must serve 6 months home confinement.
That simple scenario says it all.
And yet people will be shocked and outraged when a similar situation occurs down the road.
9
@Marge Keller - this sentence reflects race and privilege in the US. His attorney even noted that he lost his job and his health insurance. If this was a minority in a blue collar occupation the punishment would have been different. If it was a minority athlete convicted of receiving financial compensation by athletic boosters the punishment would likely be even more draconian.
1
@Col Flagg
I would hope he lost his job and health insurance, but he has only himself to blame for that. Only an attorney would try and pull the sympathy card for a situation which was created alone by the criminal.
Perhaps falling on difficult times will result in this individual learning something, like values, hard work, ethics, integrity, honesty, and be able to redeem himself in someone else's eyes. Hopefully someone will believe in him down the road and give him a second chance.
And you are absolutely correct that "if it was a minority athlete convicted of receiving financial compensation by athletic boosters the punishment would likely be even more draconian." I agree 1000%,
2
To say, I am outraged is to put it mildly.
In polite Republican circles like mine, we call them Obama judges.
Or this judge does not have college going or attending kids or his kids may have benefited from a similar scheme.
The prosecutor was right on the money when he said, a bribe is a bribe.
And if this coach thought he was being benevolent about the whole thing - why did he not let school know of this donation.
After all, money was used to buy boats and equipment in the name of Stanford. I am no lawyer - but is it not receiving stolen goods??
One another note - it is reported here that Stanford has hired a law firm to propose remedies.
A big time lawyer has been implicated here.
The lesson here is not that there are not enough laws to prevent this lawlessness - what is lacking is ethics.
Stanford needs to form a panel of its eminent alumni who believe in Stanford and are outraged and embarrassed by this lapse in ethics.
This panel will give the right recommendation - not law but ethics.
9
@Neil Thanks for the laugh- "polite Republican" circles that elected and continue to support the most unethical and corrupt administration in history refer to "Obama judges"...a little self-reflection might be in order to avoid self-parody.
1
@Neil
Do you think that you polite group of Republicans think that if they had "Trump" judges they would make the sentencing to match the crime committed????
1
I can’t get off your choice of words “Obama judges.” What does that mean or matter in this discussion?
1
I figure this guy is out of work, out of his health plan, punishment fit the crime. The bigger question is A SAILING TEAM? REALLY?
9
This article finally admits who the real culprits are: the greedy colleges that allow this. I watched as poor independent counselors were vilified by this one bad apple and set of rich colluders.
The average independent counselor is not getting hundreds of thousands of dollars to get anyone into college. Most make about $60,000 a year, the same as a high school counselor. They are bound by professional association ethics, to which any reputable counselor belongs.
The culprits here are the coaches, colleges and rich parents who try to act as though giving someone a fat check for charity justifies privilege.
Once again in America, we see the free pass comes only to those who are white and have green.
11
The judge proved even fools can get law degree from elite universities and become Federal Judges.
8
@Joe Not The Plumber
Look at the Attorney General Barr , he is going down in history as an anti democracy legal representative.
Hard to surpass that evilness or stupidity.
1
Yet another stellar example of 'higher education' at its lowest levels. Those with the resources succeed while society as a whole fails. I witnessed this behavior two decades ago and was told by
'higher ups' to ignore it. Of course, it only got worse. More's the pity.
10
No jail time?
What a joke.
What a perversion of justice.
17
Judge Rya W. Zobel, who presided over this case, is 87 years old. Assume that her probable dementia paid a part in this outcome for Mr. Vandemoer.
But with whom, at 41 years of age, will Mr. Vandemoer get his next job from? Where does a corrupt sailing coach apply? Is he a danger to society? Must more taxpayer money be spent housing him for the next year?
Firing this college cheat will be more than adequate. He has no future.
12
@Joe Miksis
My guess is at some point, Zobel used influence for her own kids in the admissions process.
6
@Joe Miksis
The financial services industry.
1
As a univ prof, I am eagerly awaiting ONE univ president (hopefully at a public univ) to release a full accounting of how much of the athletic money reaches classrooms.
20
@RichardM
Or to produce a clear, comprehensible statement of the flow of many to specific places in ANY part of the university. The best jobs in the world to have are that of a college president or a posh private school head. Perks, perks, genuflecting donors and parents, and no accountability.
3
@Sierra
College sports programs run the universities. We have made sports the one and only purpose of attending universities ie Florida, Texas, etc Academic
Professors struggle to give there students the best education the students struggle to make ends meet because they valued education. sport coaches make a mint of money and the alumni seem to be ok with that.
So now we are blaming the judge we should blame ourselves. Societies lack of moral character our obsession with everything that is not substance. We are the problem and we need to look in the mirror and learn from this whole cheating experience. We did it not the judge.
1
@RichardM I think all of us profs know: 0, other than that spent to "tutor" athletes by writing their papers. In fact, other students further subsidize sport by paying mandatory athletic fees. And most universities also further subsidize sports by large amounts.
Still, contributing some of that money to educational purposes would not make this right. The money potential of sports is inherently corrupting of university decision making.
2
a corporation or college acts through its employees. Stanford thus knew that several slots were being filled by student applicants because the school was the recipient of a large bribe or bribes. the school was not a victim. the school was the recipient of a bribe and i assume the school has kept the bribe engineered by its employees working on behalf of the school.
have stanford trustees, directors, President, etc insisted that the money be turned over to the government with no strings attached? has this school kept the fruits of the crime? does stanford take the position that bribes are legal and respected by many schools including stanford? if so, then this school's admission process is a scam and a fraud on the public. who would want their kid to go to such a place and learn to cheat?
4
As a college Professor catching a student plagiarizing a text without citing its source or cheating on an exam, they suffer serious consequence that can include being dismissed from the program. However if the University and it’s representatives do what amounts to such an egregious act as pay for play at the expense of the fate of more qualified students, this sentence is a insult to all those rejected but also to the embarrassment of the university and even more so to the judicial system failing any equity in its appropriation of its duties.
15
@Greg Metz The whole American system of education is corrupt and you want to pretend that you are a clean member of it.
The same compliance is among the staff at every college .
2
It’s a common thought that jocks aren’t super smart but not taking any money for himself shows he knew he was skirting around some issue. Helping the school is a thoughtful gesture but this behavior just validates every thing we’ve seen about these schools: that their controls are lax or nonexistent.
Considering that anyone can throw money at a school without question and no one checks the validity of an athlete, I can see why the judge didn’t think the coach needed jail time. What exactly was he going to do time for? Evidently it’s OK to have role players, as the coach called them, recruits with money. This makes team pictures fraudulent if you think everyone on the team is a player. The coach was just another chance in a bad system.
Surprisingly there were Stanford coaches who did not participate in this scheme even though approached. Sadly we will not hear from them. Did they question the school’s policy or school officials? Did they say ‘hey this guy’s been around here waving money at us for role players - get him off our backs’?Did they talk among themselves, or, was it each coach for himself?
10
I’m pretty sure the sentence for many minor “crimes” like possession of marijuana is more severe than a 6 month grounding. Tell me the system isn’t rigged!
26
“In the meantime, he said, the university was making changes, including requiring a top athletic official to confirm athletic credentials for each recruited athlete...”
Huh. That plan worked really well at USC.
11
But the Atlanta teachers received 20 years for cheating!
20
@Rave
If you are talking about the scandal that happened around 2001 I was in ATL for 2 months as that played out. Entirely different set of circumstances involving widespread changing of test scores.
As I recall the black superintendent had many teachers and managers redoing answers on multiple guess questions. This was to show improvements in the overall performance in a largely poor performing inner city district. The reason for the deception was to keep jobs or get raises for anyone involved in the ruse.
Probably in Texas it has happened but in Atlanta they got caught red handed. I would doubt if anyone actually served a full 20 years which I think would be a fair sentence for Mr. Singer.
I would be interested to see a follow up report by the NYT to see the number of years the people served in Georgia and how lives changed. More importantly if schools got any better or worse and why.
3
@Benito
Michelle Rhee has a cheating scandal that was investigated and no one had to go to court. She was a cheater but the media made her a education darling because she fired certified teachers and hired cheap Teach for America white non educators.
They lied, cheated and mike Bloomberg had all of his white minions working in DC
You highlighted the black superintendent I will highlight Arnie Duncan who closed public schools in Chicago in promotion of charters that his brother a hedge fund manager on Wall Street supported. Arnie went to the White House so corruption dies get you over if your white.
Every case in this country is different when it comes to education however Racism is a major factor in the decisions of all cases nothing changes, white men and their offspring get over all the time it’s the American way
The starting point of this scandal is the entire system of choosing students for admission based on how much the candidate might improve the school's athletic performance. It's not even a question of athletics vs. academics -- the issue is whether the university is admitting the student for the good of the student or for the good of the university's bottom line.
Kids who are top-rank athletes should get jobs with the pro teams, where (unlike at the university) they can be paid for their work. Then, when they age out of pro sports, those who really want an academic life can start college. (It's entirely honorable if, instead, an athlete wants to become the stereotypical post-pro-athlete car dealer. Or maybe start a chain of nonprofit sports camps for poor kids. Not everyone has to be an academic.)
"Legacy" admissions are also made for the good of the university, not for the good of the student, and so are corrupt and shouldn't be allowed.
By contrast, diversity admissions, for which universities are constantly attacked, /are/ for the good of the student -- the university doesn't get rich by admitting poor kids with substandard K-12 schooling.
"Cui bono?" (as they taught me to say in Latin class). When the university acts in the interest of its students (or, in the case of admissions, its potential students), it is acting honorably. When it acts in its own financial interest, it is acting dishonorably. It's really very simple.
9
@Brian Harvey Many recruited athletes are also academic standouts. Certainly the case for my children who were recruited and many of their college teammates as well. Sure there is the occasional stretch-admit but for everyone of those there are SEVERAL who EXCEL in the classroom AND in their sport. Some of these student athletes have practiced 4-6 hours a day over many years to achieve elite status, all while maintaining A averages with the most rigorous curriculum and scoring in the 99th+ percentile in standardized testing. It takes a special kind of person to pull that off; and one who is most likely to succeed in college and beyond.
Send him into the general population. He will be ruined for life.
5
This story has captured my attention from day one on several levels. I won't go into those but I have been sending replies based on others comments all evening.
A lot of people who agree with the judge sentence see no harm in that he didn't keep the money for himself. My big question is Stanford probably saw this guy as a golden goose in getting wealth donor to give money to a minor sport. Was there any due diligence done to see what was being offered in return ? Apparently not.
Hopefully tougher sentencing will be meted out to the others.
7
Brutal sentence. Poor fellow.
7
There are two systems of justice in the United States. And, we see from Vandemore's 'punishment' how the system works for white, affluent criminals
24
Only a single day in the clink?! It pays to be white, doesn't it?
15
This college bribing scandal is a prime example of "The Golden Rule"..."Those with the gold, make the rules".
12
Yeah, his lawyers were asking for no time. I can't believe he got it.
7
Anyone else hear Christopher Cross in the background?
7
@Covfe
Maybe with a note of John Denver as well.
One of my all time favorite instrumental was a song aptly titled Cast your Fate to the Wind.
By the Sound(s) Orchestral.
1
Crime pays.
7
Id like to know exactly how accepting donations for admission breaks any laws. It’s unethical perhaps and maybe should be illegal, but nobody has pointed it a specific law that it violates. Even if the money were being taken by the coach directly - it seems like a fireable, unethical offense that is certainly against his employee code of conduct. But I fail to see where the federal law is here.
6
@Dan M the definition of a "scheme to defraud" in the federal mail fraud statute (18 usc 1341) has been all over the place for many many years. these definitions do not require that the seven elements of fraud under common law be proved. "evil intent" needs to be proved. it would seem that Stanford and some other schools have published and stated to prospective applicants that they need to do certain things and pay certain fees in order to gain admission to one of these schools. Stanford and some other schools certainly did not publish that bribes would help an applicant. certainly in this case some applicant was denied entrance because someone else took his or her spot and the school's employees knew about the bribe and accepted the bribe, etc.
SOLUTION? ban all inter-collegiate sports at all schools that receive any kind of benefit(directly of indirectly)under federal law. i suspect that all public and private schools receive such benefits of one kind or another.
1
Once again, money buys access and fraud gets a legal pass. If several coaches were contacted to accept bribes, did none of them report that? Or did some report the bribery attempt and Stanford administrators simply shrug? There also seems to be a conflation with bribery and gifts. A gift shouldn't come with a quid pro quo expectation. Perhaps the law needs to more clearly state that difference.
5
"Rya W. Zobel, the federal judge... “That’s not his gain,” she said of the coach. “He gave it to the university.”"
Judge Zobel, as a Harvard Law School grad, wants to appear naive to the workings of elite colleges.
Coaches are judged on the success of their programs, which includes donations from supporters, especially for non-revenue sports like sailing.
The employment and salary of the sailing coach depended on a sustainable program. But trading college admissions for donations, when exposed, sank his boat.
Oh well, now he will have to run a sailing program in Marina Del Rey or some other purgatory. Life is so unfair.
12
As bad as this admissions scandal is, it seems this particular person did nothing other than try to gain acceptance for children of big financial contributors. He did not personally take bribes. How is this different from Harvard admitting students such Jared Kushner, whose parents made a big financial contribution to Harvard for that purpose?
Let’s sentence Jared to home confinement too!
19
This convict is no Popeye, a sailor of upright moral character. That’s for sure!
5
Yeah I also question his moral reasoning.
3
He should have gotten deferred adjudication. All checks were made payable to Stanford. He did not personally profit. No student was admitted and attended Stanford based on his recommendation. Sailing provides no revenue to Stanford and as the sailing coach he was paid less than the football teams fitness coach; not much. Stanford's sailing team benefited. They got some new equipment. Not much. If this was not amateur athletics and it was STEM, it would not be a Federal crime. STEM professors have all kinds of conflicts of interest and no one cares. They can advocate for any student they choose and no one cares because it is considered subjective. The real lesson here is that it is high time that we move past this infantile idea that somehow college athletics is not professional. These trades would then be commercial and colleges would not have to worry about fraud.
18
@Mark Singleton
My remarks about this is in regards to the idea of having sailing as a sport anyway. Is it a sport that Stanford competes with other Pac 12 schools. If so then carry on.
If it's more on a intramural or club level then perhaps no one needs to be recruited. Perhaps Larry Ellison of Oracle, a multi billionaire could sponsor the whole program and be a celebrity coach for the team.
1
But he knew, or should have known that those students weren’t in his program, so he’s just as guilty. The same can be true if a person knows a crime is going to be committed but does nothing to stop it, i.e. call the police, you could be charged with a crime yourself. You have a moral duty to step up, if you know that students are getting something they aren’t entitled to.
1
@Benito,
I'm pretty sure Stanford sailing is way above club level.
This looks to me like an example of unequal sentencing of privileged people—meaning society’s more privileged members tend to get lighter sentences, which is not fair.
11
@Margaret Read white people instead of privileged and you are much closer to reality!
1
White privilege! Period!
14
@InfinteObserver
Privilege, perhaps, but why throw race into every discussion? He is being punished, first, with house arrest and losing his job, second with probation. There is no specific harm that anyone can point to as having been done, other than to the people who put up the money and did not get what they wanted from a corrupt bargain. The only harm is to the "reputation" and "integrity" of the Stanford admissions process, assuming that it operates with integrity.
We know that people bribe their way into colleges for their kids by making big contributions to the schools. This is considered wrong because it wasn't done openly?
If you want to write about "white privilege", look at legacy preference admissions to the "top" schools. I call that affirmative action for rich white kids and even the Harvard Crimson newspaper editorialized against it recently.
2
@Doug Terry
Because in this case, race definitely applies!
1
@InfinteObserver How so?
This looks to me like an example of unequal sentencing of privileged people.
10
@Margaret
There are thousands of people sentenced excessively and unfairly every year across America, but the sentence is supposed to fit the crime (sometimes, it does). There is no specific harm that can be tied to this man's actions. If you haven't previously, may I suggest that you spend a few days watching a criminal courtroom in action? Very educational, in a negative way.
Too many people are in prison. Getting tough on this guy isn't going to resolve anything. He's not, as far as we know, a criminal, just a guy who made a big, dumb mistake and used the money to benefit Stanford.
So the kid on the Stanford sailing team does well in school and people are outraged, but the highly recruited college athlete (pick your school) who can barely read or write is ok
8
Some athletes get a degree that is more paper than substance, another form of fraud.
4
@MB You sound like you know about these things. Which of the highly recruited college athletes would you say can barely read or write? Or are you "just sayin' "?
Just another in a long line of white collar criminals that got off very light. Please explain that to a guy selling a nickel bag of marijuana that gets three years. This has to stop. If the nation has an excess number of jail cells fill them with these white collar crooks.
26
No more recruited athletes. None. Zip. Zero. Nada. Then, and only then, can our universities be considered places of higher learning. The whole recruited athlete process is just a giant loophole to be abused. We would all be better off without them. Enough already!
29
@QNC
I'm somewhat in agreement with you but I think you'd have a major opponent by the NCAA as well as all the beer brewers around the world. Big time football programs and to a lesser extent basketball provides a lot of moolah to these schools in terms of gate revenues and advertising.
Schools such as Tulane and SMU have dropped football only to have reinstated them. In the case of SMU they had to because of rules violations.
Students wouldn't have anywhere to go on Saturdays and there would be no madness in March and April. Breweries would then have no games to broadcast.
Since the majority of these institutions are in California the only winner of no more athletics would be the newly legalized pot industry. As the song goes : We must get stoned.
2
It become a cash cow for the college, the players don’t get any remuneration for being a star player. Yet the college reaps hundreds of millions a year.
2
@QNC I see. Nobody can get quality education at a university with a recognized sailing coach? Hmmm.
People with vast fortunes having access to more opportunities than the rest of us - shocking? NOT! None of us like this story any better than the next person (so long as that next person isn't the 1%) but frankly the idea that money buys access to things it shouldn't is nothing new. How about LEGAL access to better health care than the rest of us if you have the money to pay for it? My point is that I hate when we all don't get to play on the same field but no one was killed by these payments to schools and I don't really think that putting that coach in jail would serve the public interest. I'm sure some readers will be indignant by this opinion. My own husband is far more offended by this story than I am, for example, but at the end of the day I have more important issues to focus my time on (and so does he, for that matter).
5
This story is a small scene from the larger narrative of wealth inequality, and that is something that needs to change.
4
Maybe putting him in jail would serve the public interest, back in the day, putting people in the “stocks” in the public square wasn’t necessarily to benefit the public at large, rather it sent a message, that crime didn’t pay. By mitigating and saying well since no one was killed, that makes it okay. But if you rob a bank the fact that no one gets killed, won’t lessen the prison sentence you’re sure to get. Instead, the judge would say, you’re lucky no one was killed, you’d be doing a lot more than 20 years. I agree with your husband.....
1
@ManhattanWilliam
Au contraire Willie's wife. A more severe punishment in this person's case would send a message that might deter someone else from committing any crime. I'm white and was brought up in a upper middle class life.
I can see where a poor person of color might scoff at this slap on the wrist and rightly so.
3
Compare this so called sentence to the typical sentence handed out by a judge in a case of a resident of East Palo Alto. Two different worlds and judicial decisions.
5
@Bascom Hill Theres a separate justice system for the well off and the not so well off.
7
Is he well off?
this whole thing is silly. Who cares, it's not that big of a deal. College sports now run many of the universities. Joe Paterno was a god too many at penn state, look how that turned out.
there is so much $$$$ in college sports, how could anyone be shocked when instances of misappropriation occur.
4
Could there not be a better, less corruptible way to fund universities?
1
@Mary M
Have you ever seen the eye popping return on investments that the Ivy League schools as well as most of the other schools have made.
In a good year it can be as high as 20%.
In addition to patents and funding by major corporations, foundations and federal and state governments they do quite well.
1
So wonderful
Kids are now learning that it is ok to commit fraud
Why go to college at all?
22
More evidence that our judicial system favors whites.
It's broken ... and Judge Zobel only added to the systemic failure of the judiciary to address long-standing injustices.
Although she's a federal judge, didn't judges everywhere pay attention when Aaron Persky was recalled?
No -- I'm not equating rape with bribery. I'm calling attention to the the discrepancies in sentencing.
11
Not the first Stanford crook to get a light sentence.
13
@Expat Syd
Does he keep his job too?
Six months home confinement sounds like a prize, not a punishment.
17
Especially with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc.
15
...uber eats, grub hub, dominos....
2
This entire prosecution is absurd.
The Stanford sailing coach took money as a donation to the university. The Harvard University fencing coach had a parent purchase his home for many hundreds of thousands more than it was worth. (The parent then turned around and sold the house for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than he paid for it.)
The Stanford sailing coach gets prosecuted. The Harvard fencing coach still has his job and Harvard and has nothing except supposedly convene an investigation that has yet to find anything wrong with a fencing coach having a parent of a student applying direct a very large amount of money his way.
Something smells off. Why do some coaches get away with doing much worse? Because they are recommending a mediocre fencer instead of a non-athlete in return for the money? Neither student deserved to be recruited, but their parents' money made them recruits. One coach made out like a bandit and he is still coaching! The other coach directed that money to his university and he not only lost his job but the feds tried to throw him in jail!
Something smells rotten.
16
@RJ
And we're not anywhere Denmark.
2
@RJ,
Agree...Harvard looks sleazy.
4
Hey, I have a thought, maybe they haven’t gotten to the fencing coach, his turn will come, patience, grasshopper.
Sports brings out the best in people.
9
Why shouldn't he, or the school and him, pay $610,000? This ridiculous sentence is not sending a message about doing wrong, it's sending a message that doing wrong is just fine.
7
That’s what I just posted, people seem to think of this as a victimless crime, I can think of several so called victimless crimes, that aren’t actually victimless. If it were victimless, it wouldn’t be a crime, a crime can’t be a crime unless there is a victim, of a bank is robbed, account holders are a victim, if you hire a hooker, she’s a victim, a victim of a pimp, or a victim of the opiate crisis, or of all three. No crime is victimless, and by handing down such a light sentence, basically you’re saying it’s okay to be this kind of a criminal......but not a bank robber.....
1
The coach didn’t pocket the money but the school did. Tell me again how that makes the school a victim.
42
@HenryJ
Perhaps they might lose some monies from big time doors they were counting on. Plus I'm sure the Public Relations Department is working their fannies off.
Did the Student get to stay? So the bribe was worth it. Did I miss something?
8
The transcript should be invalidated. That would send a message.
I graduated from the Univ. of Alabama in the the 60's where there was Bear Bryant and some assts and graduate students. Today they pay the coach close to $11 million and he has at least 15 other coaches. Not unusual nor should there be surprise over the bribes, corrupt activities in college sports - all about money. In Canada, there are no scholarships for athletics strange it is believed that one goes to a University for an education and then sports in the spare time. Yes, some go to US schools for that reason, but frankly this pay for play in the US has damaged the sports for keeps. I love how with all this the judge gives him one day and listening to what was said, Gee, he was the poor victim who knew nothing. Proves a point there is law for the rich and connected and one for the rest of us. Someone non white who stole from a food store to eat would get a nice long sentence as the judges tell you that crime does not pay and we live in a society that will not tolerate this behavior. What a joke, but then look at the White House. Jim Trautman
22
If college was more affordable in the U.S., then big money in sports would diminish.
1
Wow a white male who receives no jail time after pleading guilty to racketeering? Is anybody surprised at this anymore? And the most disgusting thing is to hear he’s working on his MBA (because all the best cheaters have them) as sort of a suggestion that bad behavior leads to a business career. I wonder if the females who plead guilty and cooperate will fare this well.They get the scarlet letter and he gets an MBA.
26
.........Because sports are lionized......... this paved the way for Sandusky. Judge on ability, higher ability, not on prowess on the field.
3
The man is white; the judge is white. Of course any punishment is too much.
If the man is black even a broken tail light on his car is enough to shoot him dead on the spot. And his murderer is set free immediately and gets to keep his job.
Call it the "Tale of Two Colors".
30
Jailing a sailor?
Just isn't done dear.
Yes he took money that benefitted his team (and thereby, him). Lots of money. But he didn't pocket it directly. Any glory it created through better equipment/training, was purely indirect. Sure his career, compensation, bonuses, reputation may have benefitted. But is it criminal to unethically take, for such benefits, "indirect" money and give the undeserving admission to an institution people strive until they burst to get into? Barely. Right?
Next time some poor fool robs someone or something to feed or house his family (or himself), let's keep the old sailing analogy in mind. Right ho? Mate?
12
White people “justice”.
6
@Matthew No, Rich People Justice,
5
if he was a black person found to have stolen a $ 10 six-pack of beer he would be in jail. but $600,000 ? no problem there.
13
How is this surprising? Look at the conduct of our president. This country rewards greed and deceit. Providing of course it is a white man committing the offense.
13
What an outrage. Scandalously disappoint hundreds of thousands of hard-working college applicants nationwide, and pay only $10,000 and spend one day in prison.
None of the poorer kids he may have deprived of admission would ever get such a break.
11
what has Stanford done with the money? has the school kept the bribe or what?
9
@john boeger
Stanford is donating all the funds to charity.
See article in SF Chronicle.
Judge Zobel has proven once again that crime pays and that the Wealthy have a separate system than the rest of us. The judges ruling was absurd. What does racketeering mean to this judge? Not much it seems. Here is what was reported: “Mr. Vandemoer, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering, did not pocket any money from the bribes. He negotiated with the college consultant at the center of the scandal to designate students as recruits to the Stanford sailing team even though they were not competitive sailors, giving them an advantage in the admissions process”. So John Vandemoer aided and abetted the parents and students and kept his coaching job. He was a key actor in getting the rich but unqualified student into a so-called prestigious university. Seems everyone profited in getting what they wanted including Vandemoer. John helped the “group” and in doing so damaged the public’ trust, and a private institution, that’s Racketeering. Damages in most cases do involve fines and jail-time but no here.
Shame on this toad. Shame on this inept Judge. Shame on Stanford, too. Shame on our justice system. And tell all the student’s who lost out and did not get admitted to Stanford that there is NO justice in America....only money.
11
@SenDan I think the sentence is ridiculous. Essentially they’re sending him to his room. But the story seems also to say that he lost his job and his insurance over this. That is some small justice. I wonder if any other sailing program will hire him in the future
5
Judge Zobel has it right...Coach did not use the money for personal gain, he only thought about the University and it's sailing team. I only hope he gets work again as a coach, and can teach others his knowledge of boating, and his life is not wasted.
4
@Madeline Conant no. Any school, including private ones that accept Federal funding for student loans has to have an ethical admissions process.
9
That may be your opinion but I’m unaware of any laws that dictate how a school selects its students. Federal funding is irrelevant. Evangelical churches enjoy tax exempt status in spite of an obvious political agenda.
2
@Jan Matejka Tax exemption has nothing to do with it. If a college/university accepts students who pay for tuition using Federal funds--in other words, their financial aid office works with students who qualify for Federal student loans, Pell grants, and other Federally-funded--they must follow civil rights laws and act in a financially responsible manner. See https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/hq43e4.html and https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/07/the-controversial-reason-some-religious-colleges-forgo-federal-funding/490253/
I think this is an outlier.....he cooperated from Day 1 and pleaded guilty immediately. And didn't take money for personal gain. Just guessing this is mostly a one-off and does not indicate how others will be treated.
7
Getting more money for the sailing program was to Vandemoer's personal benefit: It went to help Stanford have a better program and that translates into more success for the team. A successful program while he coaches helps keeps him employed and helps him earn raises.
How naive can Judge Zobel be?
Also, given short-shrift in this article but far more attention in other news coverage of the sentence is that Vandemoer benefited from the judge receiving such "strong letters in support of Vandemoer." Yes, that's what wealth and elite class privilege looks like: A successful coach at Stanford is going to get strong supportive letters from powerful people. A person whos' poor and/or without elite connections can't get such letters.
To most of the country is just another example of how the rich and well-connected get more privilege in the justice system than everyone else.
This ruling and the reasoning behind it are a farce.
13
The pattern is emerging. If these payoffs helped just the University, it is OK. But if middlemen profited that'll be a no-no. Let's lighten up a little. Money has privileges. In all of society. If a rich parent made it possible for an entire bunch of students to sail through college, as opposed to regents canceling the sailing program because of lack of funds - which is better? Does it really matter if the money came through middlemen?
5
This is white, white-collar crime, so that one day in jail may be excessive. I'll wait to see if he sues for damages, or if he gets a White House appointment.
23
Just hearing “Stanford Sailing Team” makes me nauseous from the sickening sent of wealth and privilege it exudes. Thinking of a rich child cheating his/her way into a university for the top 1% via a sailing team scholarship literally makes me vomit.
73
Literally? Ew.
Literally? We.
@Pg Maryland
Your facts need to be checked. There are no sailing scholarships. They are not allowed. For you to direct such harsh statement towards the Stanford sailing team that had nothing to do with the college scam is truly unfair. To make such an assumption that all who sail are elite is even more unfair.
5
Dear American Legal System,
The people who gave the bribes cannot claim Mr. Vandemoer's lack of self interest. So presumably their sentences will be an order of magnitude more severe and lengthy. Please, please do not prove to me once again that it is wealth, not justice, that rules in the United States of America.
15
@Malcolm Okay.
Having worked in academe in proximity of fund-raisers, I can tell you that they have one supreme oath they take when accepting gifts: "Don't ask, don't tell."
16
A simple pay to play and certainly suspect but if he didn't profit personally it's not much different than donating a library to get an offspring into university. Legacy spaces from generous alumni isn't too far off.
It would make him more of a scapegoat based on those who did it for personal gain. He did wrong but far less criminal. The fact that Stanford didn't notice that sailing suddenly gained a windfall means they didn't want to know.
If that money went to scholarships for less privileged students it might be overlooked but new sailboats? Really? How is that beneficial to one of the stop schools in the country. Why is sailing ever done at college? That's what should be looked at. Are high tuition costs subsidizing boats for the wealthy offspring? Sure sounds like it.
5
@Kathy "Why is sailing ever done at college? That's what should be looked at."
Right. Let's spend our money on pastimes more appropriate for institutions of higher learning, things like lawn bowling and skeet shooting.
2
Is there any wonder that confidence in our institutions is at an all-time low?
The coach defrauded his employer through misrepresentation.
The coach benefited indirectly from the bribes, which he misrepresented as “contributions” to his program.
He very likely deprived another applicant of admission through his fraudulent actions.
The double standard of American justice, once again on full display.
36
@Bruce confidence in our institutions is at an all-time low ....... Really? Which national survey reported that? And which institutions... colleges or congress?
1
The sentence tells you that this Judge, at least, is none-too thrilled with the theory of the prosecution.
4
Not surprising. Educated people who break the law get special treatment. Bill Cosby was not put in a tiny cell with bars and a stainless steel toilet. That is for uneducated non-elite, non-celebrity offenders.
Plus...this guy doesn’t look like an athlete. At least not on the last decade or two. He looks like a restaurant critic. Pretty cushy job, coaching the sailing team, I guess. Lots of Power Point presentations.
4
@Chris By all means, if he looks like a restaurant critic, he should certainly be punished for college admissions fraud.
Does Stanford have a Bridge team, or maybe a chess team? This guy could also coach those. Sit in your recliner and talk about it. No perspiration with that sport. What a joke.
2
It was never about much anyway sort of like Russian collusion.
2
And to think that Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty
already. I bet she wished she could change that plea.
4
SO disgusting - meanwhile, the poor, disadvantaged person gets slapped with long prison sentences for a small, non-violent offense just trying to survive. What kind of message is our justice system sending, after having spent so many resources on this case ?
14
Anything goes. Money is the root of all evil.......we’ll, the love of money is the root of all evil.
3
It's laughable that a school that gives preferential treatment for admissions for participation in a "sport" like sailing, which inherently requires a wealthy family, continues to maintain that its admissions process is egalitarian.
23
@HKGuy Not true. Plenty of opportunities for kids from regular and undeserved families to sail, and most of the people who participate aren't wealthy at all.
1
@HKGuy
I’m not sure why the use of quotations on the word sport. Sailing requires dedication, strength and if you were to actually see how a competitive sailor trains physically you would not question that it is in fact a sport. As for the comment that it requires a wealthy family....again, it requires dedication. Sometimes the dedication is from the family that believes in the abilities of their child that they are willing to make sacrifices.
2
Here, maybe, this coach might not deserve a sentence as heavy as some of the other malfeasors, since he sought not self-gain, but support for his program, and because the admitted students would be participating on the team.
That said, it is very important that the other perpetrators be severely punished. There does appear to be two sets of criminal laws:one for the privileged, one for everyone else. If these defendants get slaps on the wrist, then it will further undermine our judicit system's credibility, and respect the law.
8
@Gregory "If these defendants get slaps on the wrist, then it will further undermine our judicit system's credibility,"
Would you object if they have a trial first?
I don't get why what this guy did is even illegal. Stanford is a private institution. Can't they admit whoever they want, for whatever reason? Maybe the institution has standing to fire this man for circumventing their own admission regulations, but why is his action against the law?
5
So much for ethics in admissions.
My brother teaches ethics class to business majors. It is a required class, but I doubt it sticks.
9
@Paulie All of which says something about the sailing coach at Stanford,,,,,,
Please tell me again why I should be happy that elites get favored treatment and illegals, minorities, homeless, drug addicts/pushers and fake entitlement recipients get free all the services and subsidies we, the middle class, pay for.
They are complements of socialist/liberal/progressives.
1
@Dr. Mysterious And I suppose you're exempting your "Dear Leader," who inherited hundreds of millions of dollars and regularly stiffs working class contractors, from those "elites who get favored treatment"?
17
@Dr. Mysterious
1. Many of the people you just degraded actually pay more in taxes proportional to their income than you do.
2. There is no level playing field in our society. There are countless factors that determine people’s outcomes in life that are completely out of their control, including the family and circumstances they’re born into. The question is whether you’re someone who can recognize that you aren’t solely responsible for 100% of your successes and that you received help along the way that many people never receive. Those people need systems that can help them live productive and dignified lives in a society with vital resources like healthcare that are increasingly becoming out of their reach. Most people benefiting from welfare systems aren’t moochers. They’re honest, very hard working people who missed out on the privileges that so many of the people who mock them received.
7
@Dr. Mysterious dude you live in Pinole. You’re not middle class!
2
Wonder how many of the judge's offspring got in to their elite schools thanks to daddy or mommy's pocket book.
10
Vandomear had no personal gain. He did it for the athletes getting the equipment they need. Jail time is not necessary, his career is ruined, his name is ruined that's enough.
16
@Mkm "He did it for the athletes getting the equipment they need". That's hardly an excuse. He's an adult who knows right from wrong. He tried to justify his wrong. Would he have sold illegal drugs to make the money for that equipment? Of course not, because that would be wrong.
4
Don't bet that his career is ruined. Within a year of completing his house arrest, he'll be coaching again, and within 10 years, he'll be making at least as much as he had at Stanford. Guys like that land on their feet. This incident is just a minor setback for him and changes nothing.
1
Given this ridiculously lenient sentence, it looks like Lori Laughlin's decision to plead not guilty on the assumption that she did nothing wrong may well pan out.
7
When you have a sailing team at a university, you really must be up to no good. Sailing? Why is this a thing?
10
@HistoryRhymes It sometimes comes in handy when you're out on the water. Or in it.
@Marcus Aurelius Actually, I would ban all sports from all colleges!
The truly shocking part is what’s legal: Stanford issues admissions slots for sailing??
31
@George Ah, yes, slots for football and basketball are perfectly okay...but why would they want to encourage sailing?
@George Yeah. Why can't they stick to real men's sports ...like sumo wrestling and bear hunting ?
Whether or not he personally benefited from his fraud (as opposed to his program) is beside the point. This creep fraudulently deprived worthy students of acceptance to Stanford that they would otherwise have achieved. Rulings like this embolden the Lori Loughlins of the world...
16
@Dan Why do you and many others here think his career is ruined? He pleaded guilty, but the sentence effectively exonerated him, and all the attendant publicity around the case points up that he didn't gain personally, and only did it to help the program. I can't imagine another school WON'T give him a job.
1
The corrupt influence of professional college sports on institutions whose core function is scholarship and education.
8
"I was wrong, and I see that now."
Or
"I don't recall."
Or
"I didn't hurt anyone."
Will ANYONE who’s not a minority ever go to jail, pay a real fine, or show genuine remorse again ok in this country??
25
I am so tired of the Justice system failing the American people. Are we the only country where the rich and powerful always get off?
14
@Julia No, we are not the only country who has an unfair legal system. The thing is, we should know better what with our tradition of teaching fairness and justice.
3
Is he rich and powerful?
That is even more true in the Third World. We have slowly moving in that direction with increasing wealth inequality. Check out Amnesty International justice rating for countries. The U. S. ranks far below western Europe.
I am amazed.
This is very difficult read when you see the application of the legal system to the millions of poor people of color.
Do we have two standards for breaking the law?
17
@Me. Yes we do... Violent crime gets hard time. Drug offense should be changed. This type offense does not deserve time either. Two wrongs don't make a right. Wake up.
3
We don't punish white collar crime hard enough, mainly because judges empathize with the defendants, who tend to be well educated and affluent.
1
Just not that surprising. If the people who took the bribes aren't going to prison, the parents who paid them aren't either.
2
But, have you seen the inside of a jail lately?
Clearly not for Stanford coaches. Let's not get carried away!
4
Why not for Standford coaches? Could not jail become more of an equalizer?
I'm sure someone who possessed personal use quantities of crack and got three to five years in prison thinks this is fair and that there is not one system of justice for upper class looking white folks and another for everyone else.
The meaning of "all men are created equal" is that all men stand equal before the law courts and that the privileges of the nobility and royalty are abolished. Maybe we need to think if we have truly implemented that aspiration.
9
This reminds me of Edwin Edwards when accused of taking bribes as Governor of Louisiana explained that offering bribes was illegal, but taking them was not.
6
And yet there are innocent people in jail for months (sometimes years in NYC!) merely because they can’t afford bail while awaiting their trials.
14
His basic crime in the eyes of Stanford is not that he was offering admission for money - that is also what Stanford does - but that he cut Stanford out of the deal, which was unforgivable.
13
The money went to Stanforf
1
It is not fair to the real athletes when non-athletes are given special admission slots. Why is it fair to real students that non-students, ie, athletes, are given special admission slots?
4
@MEM Would you say the same about admitting great violin players, or accomplished visual artists?
Despite what his prosecutors wanted, I’m confident William Barr is doing a jig right about now in celebration of another elitist getting off softly.
4
And a mother (Black and poor) gets jail time for lying about her address to get her child into a good school. The blatant injustice and unfairness is unspeakable!
16
And a mother (Black and poor) gets jail time for lying about her address to get her child into a good school. The blatant injustice and unfairness is unspeakable!
2
Given the absolute dishonesty with which most universities apply and defend their affirmative action policies—which also result in undeserving students receiving a spot a deserving student will not, what these parents and coaches did is also wrong but not deserving of jail time. Heck, these deceptive college presidents get huge paychecks and praise for their dishonesty.
3
Affirmative action is needed because students don't all come from privileged backgrounds with award winning prep schools.
1
These schools and maybe Stanford in particular are so drunk on money and fame that they no longer function as founded. It’s no longer even about simple white male Judeo-Christian privilege—now it’s driven by billionaire privilege.
17
@Tom Baroli
Not sure it's really a matter of schools that "no longer function as founded." Leland Stanford, for example, made his loot as a railroad robber baron. One can fairly assert that the university he established is proudly upholding the founding tradition.
4
This is remarkably similar to the extremely lenient sentence given to the Stanford swimmer who committed rape.
If the coach had sold a vial of crack, what would the sentence have been?
14
@DSM14 In this case since he is white, probably not much more. Now if he were black or Latino, all bets are off. Recall black Harvard prof Louis Henry Gates who was arrested for attempting to break into his own home.
10
@DSM14 The same. Just look at his skin color to determine the sentence. That's what this judge obviously did.
8
The judge in this case, Rya W. Zobel, is 87 years of age. ‘Nuff said!
6
@Covfefe
By any chance a Stanford alumni as well??
4
@Covfefe How old is beloved RGB? 86. Is that an issue too?
3
No! She’s a spry, relatively young lady. See me in a couple of years, however, AFTER the election. Carry on!
1
Since when do benchwarmers get preferential admissions? I suppose it's when their parents buy them a place. Vandermoer accepted students who were supposed to be able to participate in the sailing program. He knew they were not qualified but he wanted the money "for the program". Spare me.
When are the white people in this scandal going to be treated the same way as black people who have tried to get their kids into better schools?
36
@Judith
Check out the racial makeup of most universities' football teams. Blacks make up 12% of the US general population. They are a trifle (sarcasm) more than 12% of college football teams. And, with federal law virtually requiring preferential treatment for the "underprivileged", they don't even have to play football.
1
Isn't white wealth and privilege great!
But let's keep giving prison terms to those unable to pay parking and traffic fines! Employment program for guards!
55
@Marie
Do you really think Mr. Vandemoer is "wealthy" or "privileged?" Full-time sailing coaches, even at elite universities, make bunk.
5
Is he going to do home confinement on his boat?
3
That one day in jail for Mr. Vandemoer will do him in. He now is an ex-convict with all professional handicaps. That judge should have it reversed.
Why does this seem like a white privilege sentence?
13
@Marcus Aurelius
While I am an older white woman who has seen many black and brown people serving harsh sentences and affluent white men not so much, I still don't *see everything* as white privilege.
2
Blacks and Latinos see this high level of corruption and the justice meted out and it only confirms there belief there is a two-tier justice system in this country. Privileged white people justice and far harsher justice for the others.
17
Well, console yourselves, his career is totally ruined and his wife,, if he has one, will be bringing home the bacon forever while he slobs around in a barcalounger watching sports on tv. So, i can see why the tax payer shouldn't have to house him at our expense.
I feel sorry for all the kids in the world because they are being exploited by the adults entrusted with helping them see how to be human in this world.
2
Does he give all the money back?
2
@Rathbone Starkey
Stanford is in the process of donating all the funds received to a worthy cause unrelated to the university
3
@Rathbone Starkey He didn't pocket any of the money, so how can he give it back?
2
Pretty amazing how white/white collar criminals get slaps on the rwrist even though their crimes corrupt whole systems which rely on trust.
Think about Eric Garner who lost his life for possibly selling cigarette singles. I guess his color was wrong and his "crime" too simple.
69
Amen.
1
yet another well connected white male of privilege protected by other well connected persons. we have a real class system in this country.
29
What a travesty of justice.
6
WOW - this seems like even less than a slap on the wrist. While the coach may not have have kept the money, he did benefit because his program got the money, which helped assure he had a job. I had thought there might be stiff sentences handed out for these cases, but not that is really called into question.
13
The article indicates that he got a far lighter sentence than the prosecutors sought but does not tell us what sentence they wanted.
4
They asked for 13 months in jail.
This was fraud upon the university and all who seek or hold credentials from it. A betrayal. Real punishment was warranted.
7
And that is what being privileged looks like.
30
It's a complex case, but it's worth noting that Vandemoer's career benefits if he runs a successful program -- can''t on its face, chalk this one up to (misguided) altruism.
The judge's comments, as reported elsewhere, are more offensive than the non-sentence; she seems close to applauding him.
Completely over the top.
14
When is the Last Straw- the last straw?
The world saw the lenient sentencing in the Mueller Investigation; lying, bribing, laundering...didn't someone *manage* to get a 13-day prison gig?
Now this. There is no justice in this nation, never has been- never will be.
It isn't because they haven't committed crimes deserving of prison. District Attorneys, prosecutors and judges realize U.S. prisons have been turned into unmanageable squalid monstrosities and only certain "types" of criminals are sentenced there: Prisons are not for the rich and well-heeled- and rarely for the white.
8
Stanford may be broke once the IRS, CAFTB, and all other university oversight entities finish reviewing its various filings.
It’s tax exempt status is certainly in severe jeopardy and any endowments with due diligence or morals clauses may need to be refunded to donors.
All of Stanford’s administrative officials with oversight responsibilities should be fired for either ineptitude or neglect. If it happened on your watch you are responsible.
Any student denied admission to Stanford during this period has standing for filing a civil suit for willful discrimination.
Needless to say any students who benefited from this scheme must be expelled or their degrees withdrawn as we must assume that they knew something was wrong and failed to report it.
As for the sailing coach he still has the CA legal system to deal with.
3
How would Stanford’s tax exempt status be in jeopardy? Did you get that talking point from your Trump supporting pastor at your tax exempt evangelical “church”?
Boy, the next Stanford grad that goes for a job interview will be looked upon with a raised eyebrow from now on when the prospective employer sees that university on their resume. Was he/she one of the privileged ones?
4
@Covfefe
Really? And Yale? And USC? And UCLA, UT Austin, Georgetown? All of which were targets of Singer's schemes?
I doubt it.
2
@Covfefe You're kidding right? Might want to take a statistics class.
2
I didn’t mention any numbers. Perhaps it’s YOU that needs the stats class!
Everyone sailing away from taking responsibility?
4
Official Statement: "We are shocked, I tell you, absolutely shocked. We thought all that money came from people who loved sailboats."
6
You are kidding ... right? The money didn't go to him? Oh, it just went to the sailing club that he worked in and had a more secure job as a result!
7
@John Potter Actually, yes, that seems to be the case. Of course, if you have evidence to the contrary . . . .
1
He did not act for personal gain and there was no violence or physical injury to anyone. The sentence is appropriate
1
Good call! The prosecutor and Stanford are doing an excellent job feigning outrage. The real guilty party here is Stanford University and others schools. How they have gotten off scot-free with hardly any penalty is shocking and telling of a totally corrupt system of admissions at the elite schools.
What a travesty!
11
Our "justice" system is seriously broken.
3
Well, if he's not going to jail then the parent's won't be going to jail. It will probably just be Singer that gets prison time.
1
@John M Some poor (literally poor) guy who cannot make bail for a petty crime will rot in jail for several months waiting for his or her trial, while the rich guy has to serve one day.
The “haves” added another point today. Good for you! The “have nots” will just keep plodding along.
3
"Mr. Hayward said Stanford has hired a law firm to conduct a review of its athletic recruitment process, as well as the procedures around the acceptance of gifts for athletic programs."
A law firm will simply determine if the scheme is legal or can be made legal. The program should be reviewed by an ethics firm, if such a thing exists, to assist the university in learning how to meet its wider social obligations.
24
I began this article wanting to dislike Mr. Vandemoer, but by the end I felt quite sympathetic towards him. The light sentence is probably quite fair.
He, at least, seemed to be acting on behalf of his student athletes, who in a sport like sailing cannot compete without equipment. The purpose (value, relevance, etc.) of the Stanford sailing program is a completely separate issue.
The rest of the University appears to be sound, however, at least as far as we know.
34
@Global Charm I don't buy this. He used it to aggrandise himself through elevating his program. What the bribe is used for should not excuse the fundamental corruption. In accepting the money for "his program" he denied an actual crew athlete a spot at Stanford and spared himself having to do the work of recruitment -- part of his job.
8
@Global Charm The man was complicit in a fraudulent scheme! No, the ends do not justify the means.
11
@Global Charm I might agree that he has been fundamentally a good person. But "taking bribes from a corrupt college consultant" does not quite make him a hero "acting on behalf of his student athletes."
6
Isn't Stanford's endowment so spectacular that they can't provide suitable sailboats? Or wouldn't some wealthy alum just write a check?
60
Endowment can't be used except in dire or specifically designated circumstances, for example if the school is going bankrupt. For endowment to be used on the sailing program someone who donated to the endowment would have had to specifically state that the money can be used to support the sailing program.
5
It seems to me the applications of students admitted through fraud should be tossed, any credits and degrees awarded should be rescinded, and all records removed from Stamford’s academic files.
Period.
Those students had to know; their parents as well.
Let the parents sue for reimbursement of tuition.
Universities should create a written honor code, similar to those in our military academies, a copy of which should be signed by every applicant and included with any application.
45
@Ralph Averill Leave it to a Connecticut resident to name the college Stamford.
8
@kenneth
I have no excuse; I lived in S.F. for 30+ yrs. I should have done better.
1
@Ralph - actually the students often (or at least sometimes) had no idea what their parents had done. One of the many articles on this topic over the past few months mentions a student who arrived at his school and was like "why are they asking me about soccer?" (or whatever the sport was; in any case, it wasn't a sport he played). Don't remember how his parents explained it away --- just a typical bureaucratic screw-up, son, welcome to the world --- but it did result in intense communication with Mr. Singer --- my son was not to know about any of this! --- that became part of the record, which is how we know about it.
To this reader, home confinement is a lame penalty. Jail time would have been more appropriate.
17
So kids off the street can manage the course work at Stanford....
Add them to the "legacy" admissions, and the children whose parents legally buy acceptance with large donations, and you have to wonder: if just about anyone with money or a connected parent can succeed at these places, what's so special about them, to be worth $60K+ a year?
And why the exclusivity to begin with? Why not spread the opportunities more broadly? Or is Stanford under the impression we don't have class conflict in the U.S.?
22
@jrd "So kids off the street can manage the course work at Stanford...." Well, it certainly has been done.
well, that will teach all those white collar criminals. Go ahead and do the crime; you won't get any time.
212
But your career will be ruined
1
This country makes a far too regular practice of incarcerating non-violent criminals. That said, if we are going to lock people up for stealing a car, and let the Stanford sailing coach sit in his home watching television, we have no claim to fairness in our judicial system. This is ridiculous.
169
@paula
A car thief expects to profit from the act. The coach kept none of the money. It all went to buy equipment -- for the school. Surely some authorities at the school had to be aware of the school now owning additional sailing equipment that they hadn't paid for.
I simply do not see a fundamental difference between his rewarding those who gave money to the school through his actions and wealthy benefactors obtaining preferential treatment for their children in return for their endowments.
Maybe the NYTimes can investigate the latter and give it coverage. Except it is so common, its accepted practice. If the schools get passes on that, so should this coach.
3
And to think the FBI and DOJ spent how much money pursuing this case! If the time to be given out amounts to a slap on the wrist, it seems it pays to accept bribes to accomplish ones' objectives for ones' self and family. No wonder we still await impeachment and arrest of DJT.
88
@Rita Harris. Any opportunity to take a swipe at President Trump....atta girl!
5
@Rita Harris You got a long wait.
1
@Derek Muller
Unfortunately, you are correct.
“I want to make sure that the reason you’re taking this particular athlete is because they can help your program on the field, and not because their parents are wealthy and they’re going to make a donation while their kid is there, because that’s not fair.”
The people involved in enabling Mr. Singer to carry out his criminal racketeering i.e. coaches and athletic staff, parents, and students, all had different motivations for paying and accepting money and benefitting from the parents’ largesse, but clearly the notion that “that’s not fair” never entered into their calculations, and that is very, very sad.
24
In view of the fact that Mr. Vandemoer did not himself benefit from the bribe, the punishment seems proportionate to the crime. He should not have done jail time.
I feel a lot less charitable towards Stanford, a very wealthy university with a $25 billion endowment, and tax breaks up the wazoo; they also receive oodles of public funding.
They likely had a pretty good idea what was going on and looked the other way, or they surely should have known. The folks in the Stanford development office have been around the block more than a few times.
The real victims in the Blue Varsity scandal are those who applied to colleges, and tried to earn admission playing by the rules, through hard work and honest applications. These are the people who have been harmed and in a sense betrayed.
The prosecutors should give serious thought to going after some of the schools, and trying to hold them legally culpable. As with most institutional prosecutions there won't be jail time. But moderate fines and a bit of tarnish on perhaps undeserved reputations seems appropriate.
87
@Alex
It's a slap in the face to those whose places were taken by these "bonus babies," and to those who earned their way in, and on to graduation, through determination, initiative, and, well, studying a lot. What a concept!
As the parent of students who worked for and deserved every accolade they got from two so-called elite institutions, I'd really like to give these defendants an earful. I saw the tireless work that went into my students' achievements. I worry that this scandal will now tarnish their legitimate successes. I'm angry with everyone involved: the universities, the excessively wealthy and egotistical parents, the sports teams, development and admissions offices, etc.
18
@Alex “They likely had a pretty good idea what was going on and looked the other way, or they surely should have known” — can you offer any evidence for this? Everything I’ve seen indicates the opposite. Stanford (a) doesn’t need the money; (b) turns down 96% of its applicants, the vast majority of whom are very well qualified to excel there. What’s their motive to allow their reputation to be tarnished by this?
2
"John Vandemoer served as Stanford’s head sailing coach for 11 years (2009-19). Vandemoer’s teams won 29 of 30 PCCSC spring conference championships,"
Just wanted to keep that winning streak going, new sailing boats would do the trick. Didn't quite work out that way though, now he's out of a job, and will pay for it dearly in future years.
Rather sad what individuals can be driven to.
16
I'm happy for Mr. Vandemoer. Unlike all the rest of the accused coaches and administrators he didn't do anything for personal gain.
In fact what he did is pretty much the same as what colleges do with what are called "development cases" with no legal repercussions. The only difference, really, is that Vandemoer used a sports slot to help the donor's kid in admission instead of a development slot.
18
He just took an illegal bribe. Poor thing.
This is the perfect "The ends justifies the means" response.
9
@Mike T.: not for personal gain?
he made sure his job was secure.
10
The university's development group (seeker of contributions from alums, primarily) subcontracting its fund-raising work out to coaches seems ripe for abuse.
And encouraging a coach to fund-raise to supplement his department's budget even more abuse-prone.
What good is establishing annual departmental budgets if each department is cultivating its own income streams?
42
"...But the details of what happened at Stanford and some other schools raise questions about whether the universities bear some responsibility for what was essentially the sale of their recruiting slots and whether they could have prevented the fraud by more closely scrutinizing gifts..."
Stanford needs to be held more accountable not just for the actions of their coaches, but their admissions officers and and development staff as well.
That is the corruption that more of us are worried about.
116