Documentary Movie Reviews

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Operation Varsity Blues: The College
Admissions Scandal (2021)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 5/24

OpVars
5/24: Well, this scandal shouldn't come as a surprise as the following advice is always given in any college workshop: finding jobs is about networking and making connections which is also known as "it's not what you know, it's who you know." That "connection" is apparently called Rick Singer.

The intro visuals of students in large groups opening acceptance letters is a new concept for me. Not every moment was recorded and shared in the early 2000s as it is today. With college acceptance parties and social media reputations came another level of deception in the form of parents and money. A whole new level of low in the world of education.

What I don't understand is how his clients managed to fake a whole past life. Any time I placed at an event or made the honor roll, it was printed in the local newspaper. So did Singer fake that, too? I imagine with everything being digital now, life is easier to fake.

Hence, Olivia Jade was found out by the school counselor. The main course meal of the documentary are these celebrity children, who without their well-known parents, would be lost in a sea of average students. And because these people committed federal crimes, they should own up to it and not expect paparazzi to ignore them on the streets. They should own up to what they did just like every other felon on the streets. This whole ordeal hasn't stopped Olivia Jade on social media. In fact, as I write this, I see that she has uploaded some kind of wellness routine YouTube video about eleven hours ago. She still has 1.8 million subscribers despite what her family did. Clearly pretty privilege has its benefits.

Independent college counselor - interesting title. A "college coach." I think the most offensive crime he did aside from the obvious, is encouraging students to claim that they are black or latino. Can that be reversed too so that dark people can be treated like whites? I think not, thus, this whole charade is highly offensive not just in the intellectual sense, but a physical sense for people of color. Is this tactic the one-drop rule reincarnated, but to serve only the wealthy? Singer's tactics are grossly academically perverse. Everyone should be offended of him and his clients.

I'd personally like Singer to know that I didn't have to pay anyone to be accepted into a University. I didn't have to fake my race either and I got accepted without his lying behind. However, the real culprits of these economic crimes is the entities that have these "side doors" selling guarantees, aka bribes. Thus, kills the whole reason for coming to America to work hard up the ladder. It defeats the purpose of working hard to get the best grades. As long as you have the money you can buy anything in America it seems. Literally. This whole situation just brings truth to the phrase, "money is the root of all evil."

Singer is not the only scammer with another bullshit company. There are many out there. His isn't the first or the last. As long as there are people out there willing to deceive for money, there will be injustice. And I am starting to wonder how legit are these colleges and universities now? Maybe these schools aren't as legit as we thought if they need random side money from parents. Why can't they make it financial-wise on their own. This scheme doesn't end here, it also trickles down to certain public and private schools down to the elementary levels. Any school of "prestige" probably has a "back door." As long as the kids' parents pay the price tag, they can get their kid recommended to any school. And that's how we keep the poor poor and the rich rich.