[Arkinsaw]

Why not make everybody valedictorian, that way everyone has their self-esteem intact.

[Dan from Michigan]

Great..ambulance chasers..

[xm177e2]

It's obvious to anyone with a brain who isn't a complete politically correct lobotomy patient that some rich people are abusing the system by claiming their kids have "learning disabilities" and then get extra time to take tests (such as the SATs). The upswelling of hatred for this girl is a bit frightening, but at the same time it's good to see some people still care about fairness and honesty. This girl is obviously a liar, cheater, and thief, and if Harvard won't rescind her acceptance, then Harvard deserves her and her kind.

[Feiny]

Her name is Blair & she plagerized? Maybe the NY Times will hire her....

[soccermom]

Some people are so slimy!

[truthkeeper]

What a fascinating article. Thanks very much for posting it. Coincidentally, my daughter just graduated from high school and several of our group had a discussion about the depths to which the valedictorian role has descended.

[A CA Guy]

RECALL THE JUDGE for starters.

[saquin]

And salutatorian Mirkin, who ended up with a cumulative GPA .055 points behind Blair Hornstine? He'll also be going to Harvard.

For some reason, I think Mr. Mirkin will be a bigger success in life, and a better person, than Ms. Hornstine. Some people work for what they get, while others let Daddy manipulate the system for them. Daddy won't always be there to change the rules for Blair and she'll run up against that brick wall once she's "out in the real world." Not to mention the overly competitive, rule-bending, back-stabbing personality she has no doubt inherited from Daddy. People don't like that, which she will discover througout life.

[NYCVirago]

Excellent article.

[martin_fierro]

Blair Horstine

Smiling like the cat who just ate the canary.

[Torie]

The parents seem to be sickos. That is my opinion. They are creating a offspring which turn into a monster with a high IQ. Just why they want to go there escapes me.

[thegreatbeast]

Godfrey Daniels, we live in a sick society.
"BLAIR HORNSTINE lives in a pristine neighborhood where the houses sell for anywhere from $550,000 to $1.5 million. Her
father, Louis, is a New Jersey superior court judge in neighboring Camden County, and her mother, Linda, is a stay-at-home mom who's been active in the community for many years."

Dad being a superior court judge might help explain the "friendly" judge hearing Blair's case.

This is really sad, isn't it?

All you great legal and medical minds out there- can't they press the Hornstines to prove the disability claim in a more public and serious way?

[Reeses]

Blair Hornstine:

[GladesGuru]

At the risk of being flamed by every Liberal, I wonder how someone who was able to work out at a gym, jogging, power walking, carry an Olympic Torch, ad nauseam - this a handicapped person?

As for the Judge, is it too unkind to remember that all lawyers are 'brothers in the law' in thier own eyes, let alone judge to judge courtesy. But I digress.

The issue of plagarism is a most serious one, as it speaks volumes about this students' willingness to practice the classic Marxist/Liberal behavior mechanism of "the ends justify the means".

On the other hand, what is plagarism or socialism to Harvard? Or for that matter, all too many of America's colleges and universities.

In closing, a word of advice for the lame excuse penned by MS Betancourt. In most of America, we learn quite early, while still relatively young children, not to steal. A student of this level of academic achievement could only have not known her writing was not plagarism if she had learned such behavior at home.

A word to the parents, to whom I am of the opinion that much of this unacceptable behavior may be traced, "Are you by any chance a Liberal"? Do you consider post-structuralism a valid intellectual construct?

[liberalnot]

i remember when this occurred. her father mis-used his judgeship to win his daughter her position. both father and daughter are arrogant.

[Lancey Howard]

Why am I not surprised that Louis Hornstine, a New Jersey superior court judge in neighboring Camden County, is buddy, buddy with a mob lawyer?

[tinamina]

This sounds to me like the best argument there is for homeschooling. Look what this girl was able to accomplish and still have time for all that volunteer work because she didn't have to waste all her time on the school grounds. Of course these people got homeschooling on the taxpayer's dime...some lawyer should get ahold of that.

[Trajan88]

How is she going to "study" at Haaavaad if she can't make it to class... oh, that's right... the profs there don't like to give grades below A... she'll be fine.

I had chronic fatigue when I was in high school too... it was brought on by lack of sleep (going to class all day and working and studying at night, etc.).

That's my soapbox rant... please drive through.

Trajan88

[Ruth A.]

Unfortunately, more money goes proportionately to disabled children than to gifted children. These folks obviously manipulated the system. Shame on the school for not catching it earlier. The parents did not merely want her home schooled--they wanted her privately tutored at tax-payer expense. They wanted to eliminate the rigors of competing in class and with the deadlines and loads the "normal" students would experience. They repeated or avoided courses and teachers to inflate her grades.

If she was able to do so much volunteer work, then the "chronic fatigue" should have been questioned pronto. If I had been one of her teachers and the charges of plagerism came out, I would have to wonder about what passed before me. If I had anything that I could prove was plagerized, I would retroactively flunk her.

Harvard will get what they deserve if they accept her. She will still be considered disabled and allowed special privileges; she will probably plagerize; she will turn to a lawsuit at the drop of the hat.

[AlaskaErik]

A Democrat in the making. She will manipulate the system to her advantage for the rest of her entire life. How sad, but as the Rats are fond of saying, she's a product of her environment.