Posted on 07/12/2003 8:26:54 AM PDT by Prov1322
IN THE END, being the sole valedictorian of her class was probably the worst thing that could have happened to Blair Hornstine.
Harvard University has apparently rescinded its offer of admission to the controversial disabled Moorestown High School valedictorian, according to a report yesterday in the Ivy League school's university newspaper.
Citing an unnamed source, the Harvard Crimson said the university's admissions committee has decided to revoke Hornstine's acceptance to the Class of 2007 after learning that portions of articles she wrote for the teen section of her hometown newspaper had been plagiarized from other sources or had not been properly attributed to their original authors.
University officials did not dispute or confirm the newspaper report, and declined comment on the story.
"While it has been reported that Harvard has withdrawn the admission of a student, it remains the policy of the University not to comment on the status of specific applicants," said spokesman Robert Mitchell.
Officials said there are five conditions for admission to the school, one of which gives the school the right to rescind an offer of acceptance if a student engages in "behavior that brings into question your honesty, maturity, or moral character."
Hornstine's attorney, Edwin J. Jacobs of Atlantic City, yesterday acknowledged there had been discussions in recent weeks between the Hornstines and Harvard over the issue of the articles and over Blair's admission to the university.
"Apparently the sentiment on campus is very negative, and somebody decided to give a lot more weight than I think they ought to have given to this," Jacobs said.
"I do not think there should have been a concern at all at Harvard over her admission based upon the publication of essays. I'm disappointed that so much attention was paid to something that has nothing to do with her qualifications, achievement or intelligence," said Jacobs. "And I'm very much distressed that someone [at Harvard] chose to make it public."
The apparent decision caps an extraordinary sequence of events that began months ago, when some parents of top Moorestown students, school personnel and local residents objected to Hornstine's receiving valedictory honors for the Class of 2003.
They complained to Moorestown school officials that Hornstine, a student who suffers from an immune-system disorder similar to chronic-fatigue syndrome, had received an unfair academic advantage because her special-education status allowed her to take advanced classes at home and to opt out of other classes that had lesser academic weight.
Hornstine sought an injunction in federal court and filed a $2.7 million lawsuit when Superintendent Paul J. Kadri proposed a change in policy. The change would have compelled Hornstine to share the valedictory honor with another student, Kenneth Mirkin, who had a slightly lower grade point average.
Federal Judge Freda Wolfson ruled in Hornstine's favor, finding that the district had discriminated against her because of her disability. Hornstine was named the sole valedictorian of Moorestown High. That was the last good thing that happened to her.
In ensuing weeks, her home was vandalized by eggs and spray paint. Death threats were made in the mail and over the phone, all the more extraordinary, since her father is a Camden Superior Court judge.
Then last month, the Camden Courier-Post published a story citing discrepancies and "misused sources" in five articles Hornstine had written for the paper when she was 17.
An already-burgeoning Harvard and Internet discussion of the merits of her case mushroomed into an online petition demanding that Harvard rescind Hornstine's offer of admission. Roughly 2,700 people signed.
In Moorestown, there was talk of embarrassing Hornstine at the Class of 2003 graduation ceremony, which she ultimately did not attend.
The ceremony took place without incident or mention of Hornstine. The popular Mirkin, her closest academic rival, gave the salutatorian's speech and received a standing ovation. He will be attending Harvard in the fall.
Now Harvard has apparently said no to Hornstine. This late in the college-admissions game, it is unlikely that Hornstine could matriculate at the other schools where she had been accepted - Duke, Stanford, Cornell and Princeton.
Now the valedictorian of one of the most highly competitive public- school districts in the country, a student with a straight A-plus average and 1580 SAT's and national recognition for community service, may not be going to school in the fall.
In fact, Moorestown is now scrutinizing all her coursework.
Superintendent Kadri told the Crimson, "If [the Harvard rejection] is true, then I see this as just a very sad chapter to a very sad story."
Said Jacobs: "The kid's had enough."
In fact, Moorestown is now scrutinizing all her coursework.
L'il Miss Hornstine might be going to school this fall after all...back to high school when the school finds out she (her parents) plagiarised her school work.
So hypothetically this jerk may not even recieve a high school diploma if evidence of plagarism is docummented from her high school work?? This fellow sums up my feelings on that possibility quite well...
HA HA!
Her lawsuit couldn't have had anything to do with it do ya think? If she couldn't attend her classes in high school, how was she going to attend classes at Harvard which surely would have involved a tougher schedule?
Sounds like Harvard and her town had been through enough too.
What's up wid dat? She didn't have attend classes? Sumpins funny here.
What the article doesn't mention is that many people believe her "immune-system disorder" doesn't even exist, and that it was a story ginned up by her trial lawyer daddy to make her look more like Supergirl to the Harvard admissions office, allow her to "be homeschooled" while getting all the benefits of the public school system (like being on their honor roll and getting named valedictorian) without even taking on the same courseload, etc.
The last line in the article is the funniest:
Said Jacobs: "The kid's had enough."Horny, your troubles have only begun. Say hello to community college!
These schools won't take an acknowledged plagiarist either, and that's the real problem -- not that 'she's too late now' as this apologist/story-writer would have us believe.
So -- let's now see what university has so little self-esteem that they'll admit this nut-case. Guesses? I read elsewhere that she had Dickenson as her 'backup' school -- will they bite the bullet?
I encourage Freepers to do some Google searches to follow all the juicy details of this story -- this is a great one, one for the ages. I'm still trying to confirm whather her father -- the real evil behind this story -- is a democrat. I'm betting he is.
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