First in Her Class: The valedictorian sued, and the town turned on her

The Weekly Standard ^ | 07/14/03 | Jonathan V. Last

[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.

[Arkinsaw]

Hornstine is a complete fraud, a manipulative deceitful narcissistic charlatan.... a typical lawyer vermin.

Personally, If a bunch of people wrote to Harvard (or anywhere else for that matter) and attempted to get them to rescind my admission they better be able to prove everything they said about me.

The school should apparently hold a popularity contest amongst students to determine who is valedictorian rather than rely on GPA and established rules.

If the school, or the citizens don't like the rules then they should work to effect a change. Harassing the winner because they don't like the outcome of those rules is pathetic.

Having multiple valedictorians to satisfy popular opinion or some outcome based feel good sentiment is not something I would favor.

If she had the higher GPA, and the listed rules for taking those classes were met then she is it regardless of what people think of her or her old man.

[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?

[The Red Zone]

Unless she becomes a lawyer herself. Then it'll take her far, far, far.

[MEG33]

I'm with you on this.All they had to do is accept her as valedictorian and not play PR games by wanting it shared.

[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.

[John Will]

Ahh the SAT/ACT are worthless, the coaching smashes the credabitly of it. Self esteem > achivement it seems in the liberal zone.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Smiling like the cat who just ate the canary.

Take a good look at her eyes. They aren't smiling. Yes we all need to take personal responsibility for our actions, but this article sounds like Munchausen's Sydrome By Proxy. This young woman has been manipulated by her parents. Parents like that are worse than the ones who let their kids run the streets. Just my opinion, but she's permanently damaged one way or the other. She looks just plain unhealthy...

[honeygrl]

Ben Stein appears to be a nice conservative lawyer.

[per loin]

Atticus Finch was a fictional character, but given that photo, I'm no longer convinved that the Blair Witch Project was fiction.

[honeygrl]

I do have to agree with you. The school agreed to the rules of her home study and she met those rules and got the highest GPA so she shouldn't have to win a popularity contest to get the honor of Valedictorian. If the rules weren't fair, the school shouldn't have agreed to them in the beginning.

[friendly]

Ben Stein is an honest lawyer... hasn't practiced in years.

[friendly]

Atticus Finch was a fictional character, but given that photo, I'm no longer convinved that the Blair Witch Project was fiction.

FUNNY!

[merry10]

She used the Individualized Education Plan as a means to pick and choose which classes she wanted. IEPs are meant for kids who really NEED to be on an IEP (kids who have Down's Syndrome, are deaf, blind etc). Sounds like what she really wanted was to be homeschooled, but to be able to be in school at the same time. I agree with the Moorestown people. This person really found a way around the rules.

[merry10]

Ted Olsen is a lawywer. Barbara Olsen was a lawyer. Ann Coulter is a lawyer. There is a law practice in California making sure that our recall petitions get counted when they are supposed to.