College Admissions Scandal
Why are so many people obsessed with the college admissions scandal which was uncovered by Operation Varsity Blues?
Everyone seems to be talking about it. Major media outlets–including the Wall Street Journal, Variety, E!, People, USA Today, and more–has covered the story from the beginning, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.
Wikipedia even has a college admissions scandal entry! What’s next? Will Operation Varsity Blues be a Jeopardy question?
Questions Related to the College Admissions Scandal
The questions abound. Why did Lori Loughlin plead not guilty? Why will Felicity Huffman plead guilty?
Why did Lori pay $485,000 more than Felicity in bribe money?
Was there a stupider way to participate in the college admissions scandal? Was there a thriftier way to sneak your child into an elite school?
Was there a more honorable way to cheat? Was there a less revolting way to react once you were caught?
And what about the as-yet-uncharged students? Is there any possibility they falsely believed that college coaches would want to recruit them for sports in which they had never participated? We’re giving the benefit of the doubt to these young ones–some of whom didn’t even take their SATs or even fill out their college admissions forms–why?
And are reporters at some of the more serious news outlets, such as the New York Times and CNN, smirking at all even as they articulate the profoundly serious consequences of letting the “haves” get ahead of the “have-nots” in the college admissions lines?
Do they realize the behavior of the bribers and the bribed was as absurd as it was reprehensible?
My Take on the College Admissions Scandal
All of these questions have been getting to me. I can’t stop thinking about them. Yes, the college admissions scandal has gotten under my skin. It has made me crazy enough to imagine the story as it might play out in the feline world.
What if Mama Mothball were a chief participant in the college admissions scandal? Except what if, in the world of cats, the crime was actually called Feline Operation Barfitty Blues, and it involved a college emissions scandal?
These were the questions I explored in my book, Feline Operation Barfitty Blues: The College Emissions Scandal. I thought, by the time I published my story, the public — along with me! — would have long since lost interest in the travails of Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman, and all of the other parents who cheated to get their children into colleges.
However, I was wrong. The story is just getting started! Good luck to, Lori, Felicity, and all the rest of the people who participated in the college admissions scandal. More importantly, good luck to your children. They’re going to need it.
The Joys of Self-Publishing
As a book publicist who often dips into the role of writer, I have to tip my cap to the technology that allows us to publish a book almost as quickly as we can write one. While the topic is in the news, and everyone is talking about it — that is time time to publish a book! Traditional publishing couldn’t do that, and self-publishing can.
I self-published Feline Operation Barfitty Blues because, clearly, this was a book that was meowing to happen. Also, I just feel so lucky to be able to leverage the possibilities of self-publishing books — as a book publicist, author, and publisher.
Do you have a time-sensitive story idea? Why not turn it into a book! If you need some help, let me know.
Stacey J. Miller, self-publishing coach
S. J. Miller Communications
www.bookpr.com
sjmiller at bookpr.com