With the reveal of the Lori Loughlin’s fraudulent behavior on behalf of her daughter, Olivia Jade, and the child’s questionable admittance to USC, many hardworking parents and students are rightfully angered. Since the news dropped, more and more college scandals by wealthy families have come to light, with some having even gone as far as paying others to fill out their children’s applications and take their SATs. We asked our Lion’s Roar staff how they feel about this behavior.

Laura Madler, Editor-in-Chief- “Honestly, I am baffled by the fact that people are surprised by this. I think any high school student can tell you that the college game now is extremely competitive, especially with all of the AP classes, College Board, and SATs. Getting in is a lot harder than it used to be, so I’m definitely not amazed by the fact that there are all these parents paying to get their kids in- I think the system of legacy and that sort of selective admission is telling enough. I’m glad that people are starting to notice there is definitely something sketchy going on. We’ve got more people applying to college now than ever before, but there just aren’t the spots available for all of these applicants to prestigious universities. Anyone who’s paying for their kid to get in, well, A, the kid is not going to use their college degree, and B, probably not going to stay for their entire college education, like we saw with the Youtuber. That’s taking away a valuable opportunity from a student who will actually need it.

Alondra Rivera-Pena, Arts and Entertainment Editor- “I think it’s wrong in the aspect that Olivia Jade has gained Youtube subscribers instead of losing them. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Like, how are people still supporting her? First of all, she didn’t want to go to college. She admitted that. It just doesn’t make sense to me how she’s gaining subscribers after all of this. Wealthy people have the ability to do whatever they want, and they’re taking away opportunities from people that work harder and maybe don’t have as much of an advantage because of their money.

Jay Mendez, Sports Editor- I think it is very unfair when wealthy parents do that because its a really competitive thing to get into college, and that’s basically just cheating the whole system, and not all parents can do that because obviously not all parents have that money. Sometimes, the people who aren’t even wealthy have children that are way, way smarter than all those other children. I just think it’s unfair.”

Aiden Crousore, Staff Writer– “It shows you the influence of money on anyone. It’s broken in the fact that colleges are accepting even more money than they are already accepting from admission into colleges. This behavior is not new, so, big issue? Yes. But new? No.”

Beth Ellis, Science Editor– “Honestly I’m not exactly surprised that it happened because a lot of rich people seem to act more prioritized and think they can get away with anything they want But, it disappoints me because a lot of people look up to them and others as role models, so they’re setting a bad example for everyone that looks up to them. I do think its an issue because it’s telling people that cheating and lying are okay, and it’s preventing other students that worked hard to get into college from getting the positions they deserve.”

Kelly Ritenour, Staff Writer– As a student who has worked diligently and honestly for all my college acceptances, it’s incredibly insulting and outrageous to see this kind of behavior take place. These are the type of people who don’t need an education to help sustain a career path and a livable wage, because they’re already guaranteed both. My father worked his way through college and even used his lunch breaks to study or attend classes. If you’re too lazy to take your SAT multiple times and fill out your own college applications, then you don’t deserve your acceptance. Take your precious time and money and put it toward bettering the system instead of breaking it. Use your wealth to donate to those in need and help hardworking students and families reach their full potential.