I'm Working My Butt Off Here, But Kim K Doesn't Need Undergrad Before Law School
This has to be some kind of joke.
I'm all for female empowerment and following your dreams. Going after your dreams and daydreaming is something that personally keeps me motivated. However, when I heard that Kim Kardashian is on a path to become a lawyer, my first thought was...are you kidding? This has to be some kind of joke. Why would she put herself through over seven years of college and a bar exam?
When I found out the loophole that she didn't have to go to undergrad but she had to be an apprentice for 18 hours a week for four years, I was upset. So many people fight to get into college and work their butts off in college just to be able to get into a good law school.
I applaud Kim for trying something new and if she actually takes this new path seriously, I truly think she will be an amazing lawyer and influence the justice system for the better, based on how she has influenced the fashion world. Also, getting 100% correct on exams is amazing. As a pre-nursing major, it is so hard to get an A on an exam, but her getting an A is great if it on her own merit.
Truthfully, I am jealous of how fast Kim got job offers when my cousins who are successful lawyers worked their butts off. The whole process wasn't easy for them in and of itself, and they certainly didn't have millions to spend on apprenticeships even though they got their degrees in New York. My cousin was lucky she got an internship with the U.S. government that was super competitive.
Law school is not easy or everyone would be a lawyer. Perhaps law comes naturally to Kim — after all, her father was a lawyer. One thing is for sure: if she isn't pulling a Lori Loughlin and is actually trying her hardest with her own efforts, then I support her. After all, women must support each other, and it isn't a bad thing that she is doing this. Perhaps this will inspire other girls to follow their dreams.
Rich White Parents Can Bribe Their Kids' Ways Into College But People Are Still Mad About Affirmative Action
For years, the rich have been using their personal connections and vast wealth to continue bringing in opportunities for their lackluster children, yet for some reason, no one seems to bat an eye.
Wealthy people are paying for their kids to get into college?
*Gasp*
Honestly, tell me something I don't know.
On Tuesday, the FBI exposed a multimillion-dollar college admissions scandal executed by some of the most wealthy and prominent families in the U.S., two of which happen to be Hollywood household names. These overzealous and exceedingly wealthy parents participated in scandalous and unethical behavior, such as paying others to take their teen's admissions exams, as well as bribing college officials to say that their children were athletic recruits when they weren't athletes at all.
The most notable names from the list of 50 individuals charged are Lori Laughlin, former cast member of TV's "Full House," and Felicity Huffman, known for her role in "Desperate Housewives" as Lynette Scavo. These women appeared innocent on TV, but it's clear that the cookie-cutter demeanor their characters displayed couldn't be further from their true colors.
If we're being honest here, the only reason this is newsworthy is that the wealthy people being indicted are celebrities — not because college admissions scams are a new occurrence.
It's no surprise that the colleges where these scams have taken place have all been prestigious universities like Yale, Stanford, and UCLA. These institutions have a history of being exclusive, as well as placing money above intellect and ability. As the saying goes, "It's not about what you know, but who you know."
For years, people have been using their personal connections and vast wealth to continue bringing in opportunities for their lackluster children, yet for some reason, no one seems to bat an eye.
We all know it's going on, but no one is complaining and no one tries to stop it. It's almost as if we've just accepted that that's the way things are. Meanwhile, I hear at least one ignorant comment about affirmative action a year.
I'm being serious. It's like clockwork.
As a minority, you constantly feel as though you have to "prove" that you belong in certain spaces, especially those that are typically seen as reserved for the white, wealthy majority. With this country's history of limiting minorities' access to education, colleges and universities are definitely included in the list of those spaces. The idea that we don't belong in these spaces, nor are we good enough for them, is still highly prominent in our society, even though there have been vast increases in the percentage of minorities enrolled in postsecondary education.
As a minority student, your talents and abilities are constantly undermined, while your success is seen as the result of some type of "help."
Even though the majority of minority students busted their asses to get into college (and bust our asses every day to stay there), we are always verbally assaulted with the "affirmative action" slander. I once went to see a lecture by a distinguished marine biologist. He told us a story about someone harassing him during the early days of his career, telling him "it's because of affirmative action and people like you that I didn't get into [Harvard]." In 2008, a clueless and grossly privileged young white woman tried to sue the University of Texas for using affirmative action to discriminate against her (but the truth is that she was just a mediocre student). And for a personal example, I once sat across from one of my peers at the Honors College and heard him say "I have to look super good on my med school application or else I won't get in... Because, ya know, I'm white."
The idea that the only reason Blacks and other minorities receive opportunities is because of affirmative action needs to die.
Not only is it the furthest thing from the truth, but it is just another way to denigrate an entire group of people and diminish their accomplishments. Why are minorities always blamed when a white person doesn't receive the opportunity they think they deserve? The same people who think it's preposterous to say that white privilege exists are the same people claiming how "unfair" affirmative action is.
The truth of the matter is that affirmative action is not some sort of privilege to minorities (Blacks are still the smallest population of those currently attending college), and minorities aren't "stealing" opportunities from anyone. Perhaps if we acknowledged that the biggest threat to integrity in college admissions are wealthy and elite, we could end this tired debate around affirmative action and stop the actually mediocre kids from getting into colleges they don't deserve to attend.