Second thoughts on not being first (Blair Horstine)

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | August 21, 2003 | Monica Yant Kinney

[schaketo]

So the big winner wound up losing.

What a pathetic, predictable end to the Blair Hornstine saga.

I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that suing the school district for $2.7 million and settling for a mere $60,000 means she suffered a fate far worse than being co-valedictorian.

Especially because most of the dough will go to the lawyers.

Blair's measly cut - $15,000 - won't even buy her a semester at Harvard. Not that she could use it there, because Harvard rejected her, too.

Talk about a summer of discontent.

First, Blair filed - and won - a federal lawsuit to get herself declared the sole valedictorian of Moorestown High School's Class of 2003.

Then, she skipped graduation.

Her lawyer blamed "current tensions" and a "hostile environment" for traumatizing the teenager. Between the death threats and having her house egged, I guess she didn't feel quite up to writing a stirring speech.

But on the bright side, she had Harvard to look forward to.

Key word here: had.

Last month, Harvard officials got wind of her little plagiarism scandal back home.

Forget the grades and legal case.

Suddenly, Blair turned into just another cheater caught trying to pass off famous people's thoughts as her own.

(And in a local newspaper, no less.)

Suddenly, Harvard officials decided they didn't want a gal with Blair's baggage on campus, after all.

What's wrong with No. 2?

From the moment the story broke, most folks focused on Blair's disability, whether her immune disorder - and home tutoring - gave her an unfair advantage over other students.

Me, all I could think about was the real root of her rage.

Blair just had to be the one and only top dog. Whether it was her demand or her father's, someone at the Hornstine house couldn't bear for Blair to share the honor.

As a proud No. 2 from way back, I take offense.

What, you didn't know you were reading the musings of the real-life salutatorian of the Class of 1989 of North Side High School of Fort Wayne, Ind.?

Funny, but before Blair made a federal case out of it, I never thought of being second as such a slight.

In my day, I didn't have a Blair.

My academic nemesis?

John Thong.

I remember him well: short and quiet, brilliant, humble and kind to everyone, even the stoners.

My friends may have teased me about him, but deep down, I knew it was no real rivalry. So did he.

John was so much smarter than I that I could quit all my extracurricular activities and hire a team of tutors, and I'd still never catch him.

For four years, he ruled the roost of our large (600, before dropouts) class, while I held tight behind him.

After graduation, he went to West Point. At our 10th reunion, he was out of the Army, in graduate school, and as gracious as ever.

Does No. 1 have more fun?

Blair fought hard and lost a lot in winning the right to be No. 1.

But was any of it worth it?

Ten, 20 years from now, will anyone really care, Blair?

I, for one, don't chat much about high school in my adult life.

My boss didn't know I was No. 2. My neighbors certainly don't. I'm not even sure whether my in-laws know.

But what about John Thong?

What does it mean to be supreme?

Maybe No. 1s do live a more exalted life than the rest of us.

Yesterday, I tracked John down at a consulting firm in Chicago. Through e-mail, he quickly set this No. 2 straight about the reality of rankings.

"I don't think about it anymore," he wrote. "It has no bearing on my professional life. Nobody really cares!"

John seemed intrigued by the story, especially because the girl genius ended up with no clear college plans.

"Class rank is not the only factor in getting into a top school. I think the fact that Harvard rescinded her admission demonstrates that Harvard agrees."

From way out in the Midwest, John sized up the Blair affair perfectly.

"This seems like more of an ego trip," he said, "than a genuine concern that it will affect her future."

Same old John. Brilliant, as always.

[lelio]

Ten, 20 years from now, will anyone really care, Blair?

Her father was quoted as saying that he still lives with the pain of being the salutatorian at his high school. A grown man holding a grudge like that for 40 years. Pathetic, and I see he's passed on his neurosis to his daughter.

[sharkhawk]

What's even worse is she wasn't going to be number 2. It would be more of a number 1, number 1A type of thing going on. If the father really says he still feels the hurt of finishing second 40 years ago, it says a lot

[Loyalist]

I finished top of my class in high school and wasn't the valedictorian either. Went to graduation only out of consideration for my family. Couldn't have cared less at that point about an empty honour then, barely remember it now ten years later.

[Cooter]

A search for valedictorian come up with several interesting background stories.

[martin_fierro]

First, Blair filed - and won - a federal lawsuit to get herself declared the sole valedictorian of Moorestown High School's Class of 2003.

No, first little Blair repeatedly gamed the system by wangling a tax-sponsored home tutor, due to some new-agey claimed illness.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Sooner or later, Blair is going to really hate her father (if she doesn't already). Sad all around.