She’s the Girl They Love to Hate

Newsweek via www.msnbc ^ | june 23 | Julie Scelfo and Barbara Kantrowitz

[krb]

I don't blame the kids. I supported the school in this case. Her special situation allowed her to take a combo of classes that made it impossible to match her GPA, because normal kids weren't allowed to take such a strong mix. So I thought the co-valedictorian slot was a good idea.

The only thing this does now is forces the school to disallow the next special needs kid not to be allowed to take whatever courses he wants, simply so they can avoid this happening again.

[dennisw]

Poor little rich sick girl who was forced by a nebulous malady to endure several years of private tutoring, all at the expense of the taxpayer. Such a brave litte soul is she!


Are you sure the taxpayers had to fork out? Just curious.

[randog]

From what's in the article, plagiarism is a stretch.

I dunno, looks like a cut-and-dried case of plagiarism to me...unless your willing to bend the rules.

[templar]

OK, ok, ok. You've convinced me that my reasoning of playing by the rules, that the rules are supreme, is all wrong. Hillary is right!!! Gore should be president and Bush was selected, not elected.

BTW, I now believe Mike Tyson didn't do anything wrong by biting off an opponents ear. After all, agreeing to play by the rules before stepping into the ring is really just a negotiable thing after the fact.

[Mr Rogers]

There is no such thing as a co-Presidency. However, a nice person would admit freely that she had special help - then share the honor.

There is no reason for the courts to interfere. There is no damage to the girl if she shares a number 1 spot.

This girl will be a total failure in life. Life isn't a game with rules. Life frequently is unfair. Learning to deal with that is FAR more important to success than wasting legal time trying to make it 'fair'.

Her classmates reaction will be mirrored by everyone she meets in life until she either 1) changes, or 2) quits life.

[independentmind]

I am not certain, but I am making an educated guess, given my understanding of the role the school board played in her home tutoring. Are you familiar with the rights students have for special education if it is determined necessary under the terms of their IEPs? (individual education plans) Do you know anything about Title VI-B?

[independentmind]

Thank you for confirming what I strongly suspected.

[reg45]

No wonder she did so well. She was 50% homescholled. That's what gave her an unfair advantage. She got to spend half the day away from the NEA propagandists.

[headsonpikes]

"What 'game' is she playing?"

The one where you try to get the PowersThatBe to put a stamp of approval on your life.

I feel sorry for her; it's not her fault her father's a lawyer.

[Trust but Verify]

I'm not willing to bend the rules, but others apparently are. That's what this discussion is all about.

[Trust but Verify]

Actually, she was trying to get the powers that be to stand by the rules they made.

[independentmind]

She was not homeschooled. The taxpayers funded all of her private tutoring.

[philomath]

if the rules were followed

precisely. if you evaluate the case the rules were not followed. this person is disabled like clinton is a saint. from inside the field where these bogus syndromes grow to feed the diability machine, i see this drek every day. how can someone who is chronically fatigued do all she had to do to accomplish her goal??

a bs diagnosis for a bs family.....

[LanPB01]

I can sympathize a little with the guy that wanted to share the honor with her, simply due to the fact that a lot of colleges offer scholarships to anyone that is labelled as "valedictorian". And from what I understand, she had the advantage of being able to take weighted classes that the regular students couldn't attend.

[reg45]

Oops!

No wonder she did so well. She was 50% homescholledhomeschooled. That's what gave her an unfair advantage. She got to spend half the day away from the NEA propagandists.

[Hans]

Lucky Harvard.