Guest MD2020 Report post Posted July 11, 2003 Report: Valedictorian who sued is dropped from Harvard class By Associated Press, 7/11/2003 13:18 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) 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. Marlyn McGrath Lewis, the school's director of Undergraduate Admissions, would not comment on Hornstine's case. 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. 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 is also seeking $2.7 million in punitive and compensatory damages. A hearing in that matter is scheduled for Aug. 13 in U.S. District Court in Camden. 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. Moorestown Board of Education President Cyndy Wulfsberg said Hornstine's academic work is being examined for plagiarism. She said that information might be used in the district's defense of the lawsuit and so the school can examine its own procedures. Students in the district caught plagiarizing are subject to failing classes and losing academic credit. ''We need to make sure that everybody and everything that comes out of the school system is something we can be proud of,'' Wulfsberg said. Hornstine skipped her school's graduation ceremony last month Found here: http://www.boston.com/dailynews/192/region..._sued_%3A.shtml Couldn't happen to a nicer person! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted July 11, 2003 Three cheers for Harvard. Man, I never thought I'd say that. I wonder it there will be another lawsuit in the near future?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hogan Made Wrestling Report post Posted July 11, 2003 Personally I think that's bullshit. If she was plagarising her school work then I'd agree completely with them, but this just seems more like bowing to popular opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest godthedog Report post Posted July 11, 2003 i don't think the plagiarism thing should be that big a deal, since it was just in a letter to the editor and not anything she actually submitted for a grade. and i won't deny that she IS a petty little twat, but i don't see how that would rationally cancel out her GPA and her SAT scores. they say they want everyone who comes out of their school to be someone they're proud of, but this takes it a bit too far. now...if this girl turns around and sues all 2,700 people who signed the petition for keeping her from getting into school, THEN i won't care and let her suffer in the squalor of a slightly-less-prestigious college. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MD2020 Report post Posted July 11, 2003 i don't think the plagiarism thing should be that big a deal, since it was just in a letter to the editor and not anything she actually submitted for a grade. and i won't deny that she IS a petty little twat, but i don't see how that would rationally cancel out her GPA and her SAT scores. they say they want everyone who comes out of their school to be someone they're proud of, but this takes it a bit too far. now...if this girl turns around and sues all 2,700 people who signed the petition for keeping her from getting into school, THEN i won't care and let her suffer in the squalor of a slightly-less-prestigious college. It wasn't a letter to the editor. She was writing a column for the local newspaper. She plagarized. Harvard frowns on plagarizing. If she never made a big deal about having to share her being valdectorian, especially since she had advantages that no other kid in that school had, then she'd be going to Harvard. Karma gets you in the end... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted July 11, 2003 She"ll probably end up at a school that's just has good if not better than Harvard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CED Ordonez Report post Posted July 11, 2003 I'd feel sorry for her, but seeing as she basically blackmailed her high school into giving her sole valevictorian honors, I'm not... Fuck her. Hooray for karma! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted July 12, 2003 She was an asshole. I'm glad it worked out this way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MrRant Report post Posted July 12, 2003 Karma = Bitch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mik at Cornell Report post Posted July 12, 2003 She"ll probably end up at a school that's just has good if not better than Harvard. The only school that fits that bill according to US news and world reports is Princeton. Ever since I've been checking out the list (and watching my school fall...from 8 to 12 to now 15! ouch) it's been Princeton 1, Harvard 2. She got booted from the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kahran Ramsus Report post Posted July 12, 2003 Princeton won't let her in either. Neither will any school that matters. When it comes to post secondary education, plagiarism is worse than murder. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JHawk Report post Posted July 12, 2003 And since it was an article for a newspaper, plagiarism is the worst possible offense you can be guilty of in journalism, as that brings the entire paper down. Hell, Kent State University will deny you admission for plagiarism, and I highly doubt we're in anybody's list of top 15 schools. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CanadianChris Report post Posted July 12, 2003 (edited) I feel no guilt whatsoever for the massive amount of schaedenfreude I'm feeling right now. The only thing I'm sad about is that she skipped commencement, thus depriving her fellow students of the opportunity to BOO HER ASS out of the auditorium. Edited July 13, 2003 by CanadianChris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted July 13, 2003 All that whining she did and she never went to commencement?!?!... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted July 14, 2003 I feel no guilt whatsoever for the massive amount of schaedenfreude I'm feeling right now. The only thing I'm sad about is that she skipped commencement, thus depriving her fellow students of the opportunity to BOO HER ASS out of the auditorium. Man that would have been a GREAT moment to see had she shown up to commencement. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
