Why We Should Attack Admissions Bribery Scandals Instead of Affirmative Action

By: Sumaya Hussaini ‘22 and Ann Nguyen ‘22

“They’re taking someone else’s spot.”

For years, the sentence was uttered in reference to affirmative action — admissions practices that provide equal access to education and are preferential toward groups that have been historically underrepresented, disadvantaged, and/or discriminated against. However, the same sentiment was recently expressed by the general public in response to college admissions scandal, in which the children of wealthy celebrities and prominent business leaders were accepted to USC and other elite universities through illegal means of bribery and fraud.