Valedictorian Who Sued Is Reportedly Dropped From Harvard

WNBC ^ | 7/11/2003 | AP

[sjersey]

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A New Jersey student who sued successfully to be the sole valedictorian of her high school has been disinvited from attending Harvard University for plagiarism, according to a published report.

Citing an unnamed source involved with the decision, The Harvard Crimson reported for Friday's edition that the Ivy League school decided not to welcome Blair Hornstine into its class of 2007.

Harvard spokesman Robert Mitchell said the university would not comment on any application to the school.

A source familiar with the admissions process told the Crimson that it would be unusual for Harvard not to rescind the admission of a student caught plagiarizing. Lewis would not comment on Hornstine's case, however.

Calls to Hornstine's father, a New Jersey Superior Court judge in Camden, her lawyer and a second lawyer who has served as her spokesman were not immediately returned Friday morning.

Nearly 2,700 people signed an online petition calling for Harvard to rescind Hornstine's acceptance. The petition drive began before news broke about possible plagiarism by Hornstine in a southern New Jersey newspaper.

In a column published last month by the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill, Hornstine conceded she did not properly attribute material she used in a teen page commentary column.

Hornstine, a student with near-perfect grades and a near-perfect SAT score, had gotten attention from President Bush, among others, for her good works in the community.

She attracted national media attention in May, when she sued the public school system in Moorestown, the wealthy Philadelphia suburb where she lives.

Hornstine suffers from an immune deficiency, and during her last two years of high school received much of her instruction from tutors at her home and was exempted from classes such as physical education.

Though she had the highest grades in her class, the school administration wanted her to share the valedictorian title with another student.

She sued in federal court to be the only valedictorian -- and she won based on a discrimination complaint.

She also sued in state court, seeking $2.7 million in punitive and compensatory damages. That case has not been resolved.

Hornstine returned to the news when the Courier-Post published her explanation of her failure to properly attribute material for columns and essays in newspaper-sponsored contests.

The writings appeared to borrow themes, structures and, in several cases, lengthy verbatim passages from sources ranging from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and presidential proclamation to foreign affairs analysis.

School officials in Moorestown have said they were reviewing Hornstine's school work to see if any of it was plagiarized.

She skipped her school's graduation ceremony last month.

[7 x 77]

Sounds like Harvard and this student are a dream match.

[martin_fierro]

Another article that's not so easy on Ms. Horstine

[Support Free Republic]

Hint! Hint!Hint! Hint!Hint! Hint!

[TrebleRebel]

She sued to be sole valedictorian, and then skips the commencement?.....Who's advising this chick?

[lelio]

Hornstine suffers from an immune deficiency
Which is highly debatable. From what I read she sounds pretty healthy, just didn't want to risk getting a low grade in a class.
She said that since newspapers lack the capacity for footnotes she didn't do it. Yeah, that's the ticket.

[friendly]

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!! BLAIR AND THE REST OF HORNSTINE LAWYERS MUST SUE HARVARD AT ONCE!!!!!

[Cicero]

She's the daughter of a New Jersey judge. That pretty much says it all.

She plagiarized from bill clinton and from numerous far-left sources for her newspaper columns. She's a perfect Harvard applicant.

She was raised as a good little apparatchik. A privileged daughter of the Nomenklatura, is how I'd describe her. But she has to take some of the blame, because even Svetlana Stalin knew better than to follow after her father in all things.

[Alberta's Child]

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving b!tch.

That @sshole father of hers must be assembling a "dream team" of lawyers to try to fix this one.

Nothing would delight me more than to see her GPA get knocked down to about a 2.0 after they find that she plagiarized any number of her school papers.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

I hereby nominate Blair Hornstine as an honorary Clinton.

[alisasny]

a near-perfect SAT score

I wonder if she had to take this test in the group setting like the rest of us had to or did she get special moderator?

[Pharmboy]

Well, there should be a job waiting for her at The New York Times...

[Orangedog]

I think that's probably why they really dropped her. If she turned on one school, she'd be just as likely to on harvard if she didn't get what she thought she deserved there, too.

We might not get what we want...we might not get what we need...just so long as we don't get what we deserve!

[Arkinsaw]

Perhaps they should tar her, feather her, ride her out on a rail, and brand her forehead so she can't go to school anywhere or get a job. Then maybe we will be satisfied.

[SolutionsOnly]

Now if Harvard would only extend an invitation to the co-valedectorian that was stripped of that honor in the court case, justice would be done!

[Vesuvian]

I wonder if she had to take this test in the group setting like the rest of us had to or did she get special moderator?

Most likely she got to take it with unlimited time AND the help of her "tutor."

[Hank Rearden]

Perhaps they should tar her, feather her, ride her out on a rail, and brand her forehead so she can't go to school anywhere or get a job. Then maybe we will be satisfied.

That would just about do it for me, as a matter of fact. But she needs a good ass-kickin' too.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Guess Harvard figures that if she's already mastered the art of plagiarism, there is nothing they can teach her. It's straight to the New York Times for her.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The saludatorian has already been accepted at Harvard...

Schadenfreude, it's what's for dinner!

[Tijeras_Slim]

She can intern for Joe Biden.