UMC suburban college student lied about background to become prestigious Rhodes Scholar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So to summarize -

1. Her mother is a doctor
2. There was some kind of incident between mother and teenage daughter that led to abuse charges (later dropped)
3. The daughter was actually in foster care for a period of time
4. The daughter definitely embellished significant parts of her origin story

Wow, that's a lot. Fierceton sounds like she has a few screws loose, but maybe so does her mother?

5. Her mother is apparently the one who outed her.

It's a mess.

6. She's involved in a wrongful death lawsuit against Penn filed by the family of a student who died in the basement of a campus building - her involvement in the suit stemmed from her own experience having a seizure in that basement and the fact that it took over hour for her to be removed from the basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Financial aid and admissions do not just take someone's word that they were/are in foster care. This is something that you have to provide documentation to claim.

No one is denying that she was in foster care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may be more complicated. According to this article, the young woman did grow up with a physician mom, but was removed from her home because of parental abuse in high school because of parental abuse and entered foster care. This is not your typical privileged suburban kid.



https://www.bigtrial.net/2021/12/lawsuit-pillow-talk-conspiracy-between.html

This is clearly a very complicated situation, but I can guarantee you that this young woman's bio mom is a real piece of work. It is extremely hard in our system for someone as educated and privileged as a physician to lose custody of their child. The abuse must of been horrific.

The "whistleblower" is Mackenzie's mother. It's astonishing to me that the she would take it upon herself to contact Penn and the Inquirer just to derail her daughter's life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So to summarize -

1. Her mother is a doctor
2. There was some kind of incident between mother and teenage daughter that led to abuse charges (later dropped)
3. The daughter was actually in foster care for a period of time
4. The daughter definitely embellished significant parts of her origin story

Wow, that's a lot. Fierceton sounds like she has a few screws loose, but maybe so does her mother?

The daughter was in the hospital for a month after being removed from her mother's home, due to injuries caused by the mom. It takes a lot for a wealthy, powerful parent to lose custody to the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This may be more complicated. According to this article, the young woman did grow up with a physician mom, but was removed from her home because of parental abuse in high school because of parental abuse and entered foster care. This is not your typical privileged suburban kid.



https://www.bigtrial.net/2021/12/lawsuit-pillow-talk-conspiracy-between.html

This is clearly a very complicated situation, but I can guarantee you that this young woman's bio mom is a real piece of work. It is extremely hard in our system for someone as educated and privileged as a physician to lose custody of their child. The abuse must of been horrific.

The "whistleblower" is Mackenzie's mother. It's astonishing to me that the she would take it upon herself to contact Penn and the Inquirer just to derail her daughter's life.

A real piece of work, as the PP said.

[Anonymous]

The Ivy League is full of sociopathic schemers who lied to get in. Literally full. None of that crap in kids' admissions essays in verified.

[Anonymous]

I can totally believe that the university administrator and the press embellished her story when it was useful to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can totally believe that the university administrator and the press embellished her story when it was useful to them.

+1. I don't believe for a second that U Penn admissions staff did not know that she came from an UMC background. They saw her as a "diversity" admit who would be well-prepared and be a feel good story. Pluses all around for the university.

[Anonymous]

It’s not clear to me that she lied even. Clearly a fuller picture changes the nature of her accomplishments but even assuming a stable and wealthy upbringing (and the stable is questionable given later events) the fact that it was entirely disrupted when she was a junior is a big deal! And it sounds like she genuinely doesn’t have a family of any kind and hasn’t since 11th grade.

I think it’s absurd and distasteful how university officials trot out students with troubled or underprivileged backgrounds brownie points.

[Anonymous]

The power of victimhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The power of victimhood.

+1 This. Victims are the new heroes. Pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Ivy League is full of sociopathic schemers who lied to get in. Literally full. None of that crap in kids' admissions essays in verified.

This. and Penn has the most of them as it is the Most gunner/strivey of the ivies.

There’s a stench about Penn that makes it a bit unwashed and philistine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can totally believe that the university administrator and the press embellished her story when it was useful to them.

+1. I don't believe for a second that U Penn admissions staff did not know that she came from an UMC background. They saw her as a "diversity" admit who would be well-prepared and be a feel good story. Pluses all around for the university.

Yep. Sounds like it's Penn that's at fault here.

From the article:
Mackenzie had in fact never denied that she came from a well-off, educated background prior to entering foster care, and her student records at Penn had always made that abundantly clear," wrote Penn professors Anne Norton and Rogers M. Smith in an yet unpublished article that they have submitted to The Chronicle of Higher Education, entitled, "The Mendacity of the Meritocrats, A Tale of Student Abuse."
Still, in selecting Rhodes candidates, Penn officials had heard what they wanted to hear, and told Mackenzie’s story in the way that they wanted to tell it," the professors wrote. "The Philadelphia Inquirer had done the same when reporting on her Rhodes award. As the media buzz grew, Mackenzie’s high school time in foster care was made to sound like a lifetime in foster care, despite the precision of Mackenzie’s own statements and her subsequent efforts at correction."

[Anonymous]

Headline should read:

Penn embellished UMC suburban college student about background to become prestigious Rhodes Scholar.

This is what happens when universities like Penn have specialized offices dedicated to securing these types of scholarships. It definitely cheapens the award in my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So to summarize -

1. Her mother is a doctor
2. There was some kind of incident between mother and teenage daughter that led to abuse charges (later dropped)
3. The daughter was actually in foster care for a period of time
4. The daughter definitely embellished significant parts of her origin story

Wow, that's a lot. Fierceton sounds like she has a few screws loose, but maybe so does her mother?

5. Her mother is apparently the one who outed her.

It's a mess.

6. She's involved in a wrongful death lawsuit against Penn filed by the family of a student who died in the basement of a campus building - her involvement in the suit stemmed from her own experience having a seizure in that basement and the fact that it took over hour for her to be removed from the basement.

Very strange.