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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it weird that there is a PP who was so insistent that it was Mackenzie’s mother who sent the anonymous complaint, and then doubled down and insisted that fact was in the article linked in the OP when challenged. I just read every single article linked in this thread and there is literally no indication whatsoever it was the mother who sent the complaint in.

So what gives, PP? Why the lies? It’s very strange behavior.

'Mackenzie Fierceton Had To Be Discredited And Buried'

After the Inquirer story ran, the lawsuit claims, Ruderman called Fierceton and informed her that she had received an anonymous email complaint that accused Fierceton "of lying about her abuse and misrepresenting herself to gain sympathy."

Fierceton called Shepard, who informed her that she had received the same anonymous email. The anonymous tips apparently came from the same source -- Fierceton's biological mother, who was a doctor in St. Louis.

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

[Anonymous]

The university, which literally has the letters, indicated it was an acquaintance in their filed answer. I just read their answer and I have to say, Fierceton doesn’t come across all that well. The university response is meticulous and detailed.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21174416-penn-answer

It wasn’t the mother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it weird that there is a PP who was so insistent that it was Mackenzie’s mother who sent the anonymous complaint, and then doubled down and insisted that fact was in the article linked in the OP when challenged. I just read every single article linked in this thread and there is literally no indication whatsoever it was the mother who sent the complaint in.

So what gives, PP? Why the lies? It’s very strange behavior.

'Mackenzie Fierceton Had To Be Discredited And Buried'

After the Inquirer story ran, the lawsuit claims, Ruderman called Fierceton and informed her that she had received an anonymous email complaint that accused Fierceton "of lying about her abuse and misrepresenting herself to gain sympathy."

Fierceton called Shepard, who informed her that she had received the same anonymous email. The anonymous tips apparently came from the same source -- Fierceton's biological mother, who was a doctor in St. Louis.

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

The university filing says it was an acquaintance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honest question to all the posters thinking this child is entirely justified in lying to gain another step on the ladder of prestige-is this someone you would enthusiastically hire & promote within your organization?

Yes I would. She was a young high school student at the time without family support. Desperate people do desperate things. Once she got the chance she proved herself by receiving exceptionally high marks over 4 years at Penn state who recommended her to the Rhodes committee.

But she's a relentless liar who invents her own truths and she is not in politics. May I ask what industry you are in?

Her story largely checks out. Did you read the full article?

I read the article. Her story didn't check out. The DA said he dropped the charges against the mom and the more he looked into it the less clear the story became. Whatever. She's not low-income or first generation. At least the Rhodes Committee didn't think so as they defined it.

She was hospitalized for almost a month, but sure her mom didn’t do anything wrong.

and the state must have just placed her in foster care for funsies!

I can't help thinking this kid pushed the narrative to show mom who's the boss. She's obviously intelligent & has foresight & I'm really doubting there there was no other way to handle whatever stresses there were in her UMC home. She also supposedly had a difficult relationship with the dad (divorced), but no other details on that.

Explain a month in the hospital due to injuries?

Psych hold? The treating nurse stated Mackenzie was emotionally traumatized. The extended stay could have been for mental health reasons. She went to school the day after the injury, drove on on her own, and then passed out/fainted. Seems to me there is no way she was able to drive to school the next day if the inquiries were that severe - the month long hospitalization likely was related to the emotional trauma and need to keep her from having to go home.

I’ve no idea what to make of this story. Could be story of a bright student with an abusive Mom who found the strength to leave and start a new life. But identifying as First Gen is a red flag - the Penn definition changed after she submitted her undergrad app, right? On some level it seems like the Mom reaching out to sabotage the Rhodes scholarship confirms the abusive Mom narrative. But could also be that the Mom didn’t want to be trashed again (in national press this tine) based on her daughter’s recolllection of the events that fateful night. Sadly, whatever happened only Mackenzie and her Mom know the truth. And they both clearly have very different lived experiences of what that truth is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honest question to all the posters thinking this child is entirely justified in lying to gain another step on the ladder of prestige-is this someone you would enthusiastically hire & promote within your organization?

Yes I would. She was a young high school student at the time without family support. Desperate people do desperate things. Once she got the chance she proved herself by receiving exceptionally high marks over 4 years at Penn state who recommended her to the Rhodes committee.

But she's a relentless liar who invents her own truths and she is not in politics. May I ask what industry you are in?

Her story largely checks out. Did you read the full article?

I read the article. Her story didn't check out. The DA said he dropped the charges against the mom and the more he looked into it the less clear the story became. Whatever. She's not low-income or first generation. At least the Rhodes Committee didn't think so as they defined it.

She was hospitalized for almost a month, but sure her mom didn’t do anything wrong.

and the state must have just placed her in foster care for funsies!

I can't help thinking this kid pushed the narrative to show mom who's the boss. She's obviously intelligent & has foresight & I'm really doubting there there was no other way to handle whatever stresses there were in her UMC home. She also supposedly had a difficult relationship with the dad (divorced), but no other details on that.

Explain a month in the hospital due to injuries?

Psych hold? The treating nurse stated Mackenzie was emotionally traumatized. The extended stay could have been for mental health reasons. She went to school the day after the injury, drove on on her own, and then passed out/fainted. Seems to me there is no way she was able to drive to school the next day if the inquiries were that severe - the month long hospitalization likely was related to the emotional trauma and need to keep her from having to go home.

I’ve no idea what to make of this story. Could be story of a bright student with an abusive Mom who found the strength to leave and start a new life. But identifying as First Gen is a red flag - the Penn definition changed after she submitted her undergrad app, right? On some level it seems like the Mom reaching out to sabotage the Rhodes scholarship confirms the abusive Mom narrative. But could also be that the Mom didn’t want to be trashed again (in national press this tine) based on her daughter’s recolllection of the events that fateful night. Sadly, whatever happened only Mackenzie and her Mom know the truth. And they both clearly have very different lived experiences of what that truth is.

It wasn't the mom who reached out to sabotage. It was acquaintances, probably from high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honest question to all the posters thinking this child is entirely justified in lying to gain another step on the ladder of prestige-is this someone you would enthusiastically hire & promote within your organization?

Yes I would. She was a young high school student at the time without family support. Desperate people do desperate things. Once she got the chance she proved herself by receiving exceptionally high marks over 4 years at Penn state who recommended her to the Rhodes committee.

But she's a relentless liar who invents her own truths and she is not in politics. May I ask what industry you are in?

Her story largely checks out. Did you read the full article?

I read the article. Her story didn't check out. The DA said he dropped the charges against the mom and the more he looked into it the less clear the story became. Whatever. She's not low-income or first generation. At least the Rhodes Committee didn't think so as they defined it.

She was hospitalized for almost a month, but sure her mom didn’t do anything wrong.

and the state must have just placed her in foster care for funsies!

I can't help thinking this kid pushed the narrative to show mom who's the boss. She's obviously intelligent & has foresight & I'm really doubting there there was no other way to handle whatever stresses there were in her UMC home. She also supposedly had a difficult relationship with the dad (divorced), but no other details on that.

Explain a month in the hospital due to injuries?

Psych hold? The treating nurse stated Mackenzie was emotionally traumatized. The extended stay could have been for mental health reasons. She went to school the day after the injury, drove on on her own, and then passed out/fainted. Seems to me there is no way she was able to drive to school the next day if the inquiries were that severe - the month long hospitalization likely was related to the emotional trauma and need to keep her from having to go home.

I’ve no idea what to make of this story. Could be story of a bright student with an abusive Mom who found the strength to leave and start a new life. But identifying as First Gen is a red flag - the Penn definition changed after she submitted her undergrad app, right? On some level it seems like the Mom reaching out to sabotage the Rhodes scholarship confirms the abusive Mom narrative. But could also be that the Mom didn’t want to be trashed again (in national press this tine) based on her daughter’s recolllection of the events that fateful night. Sadly, whatever happened only Mackenzie and her Mom know the truth. And they both clearly have very different lived experiences of what that truth is.

I don't think that is true. And the Chronicle article also says that the FGLI association says they consider a student first gen if they don't have a supportive relationship with the person in their family that has a degree. So she qualifies on two of Penn's own wonky metrics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The university, which literally has the letters, indicated it was an acquaintance in their filed answer. I just read their answer and I have to say, Fierceton doesn’t come across all that well. The university response is meticulous and detailed.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21174416-penn-answer

It wasn’t the mother.

LOL the university look petty and incompetent. Hope a lot of people lose their jobs. Bet they treat rape victims the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honest question to all the posters thinking this child is entirely justified in lying to gain another step on the ladder of prestige-is this someone you would enthusiastically hire & promote within your organization?

Yes I would. She was a young high school student at the time without family support. Desperate people do desperate things. Once she got the chance she proved herself by receiving exceptionally high marks over 4 years at Penn state who recommended her to the Rhodes committee.

But she's a relentless liar who invents her own truths and she is not in politics. May I ask what industry you are in?

Her story largely checks out. Did you read the full article?

I read the article. Her story didn't check out. The DA said he dropped the charges against the mom and the more he looked into it the less clear the story became. Whatever. She's not low-income or first generation. At least the Rhodes Committee didn't think so as they defined it.

She was hospitalized for almost a month, but sure her mom didn’t do anything wrong.

and the state must have just placed her in foster care for funsies!

I can't help thinking this kid pushed the narrative to show mom who's the boss. She's obviously intelligent & has foresight & I'm really doubting there there was no other way to handle whatever stresses there were in her UMC home. She also supposedly had a difficult relationship with the dad (divorced), but no other details on that.

Explain a month in the hospital due to injuries?

Psych hold? The treating nurse stated Mackenzie was emotionally traumatized. The extended stay could have been for mental health reasons. She went to school the day after the injury, drove on on her own, and then passed out/fainted. Seems to me there is no way she was able to drive to school the next day if the inquiries were that severe - the month long hospitalization likely was related to the emotional trauma and need to keep her from having to go home.

I’ve no idea what to make of this story. Could be story of a bright student with an abusive Mom who found the strength to leave and start a new life. But identifying as First Gen is a red flag - the Penn definition changed after she submitted her undergrad app, right? On some level it seems like the Mom reaching out to sabotage the Rhodes scholarship confirms the abusive Mom narrative. But could also be that the Mom didn’t want to be trashed again (in national press this tine) based on her daughter’s recolllection of the events that fateful night. Sadly, whatever happened only Mackenzie and her Mom know the truth. And they both clearly have very different lived experiences of what that truth is.

I don't think that is true. And the Chronicle article also says that the FGLI association says they consider a student first gen if they don't have a supportive relationship with the person in their family that has a degree. So she qualifies on two of Penn's own wonky metrics.

First gen for Penn also means not having gone to an Ivy Penn looks really bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The university, which literally has the letters, indicated it was an acquaintance in their filed answer. I just read their answer and I have to say, Fierceton doesn’t come across all that well. The university response is meticulous and detailed.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21174416-penn-answer

It wasn’t the mother.

LOL the university look petty and incompetent. Hope a lot of people lose their jobs. Bet they treat rape victims the same way.

No, they don't. That's the answer of an organization that has the facts on its side. I'm sorry, but you obviously do not know much about legal briefs.

[Anonymous]

From the Penn response (TLDR: it wasn't the mother who outed her - NYT columnist Nick Kristof did her in!):
"Fierceton’s Story is Exposed
44. The Philadelphia Inquirer story, published just one day after Fierceton was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, spread her false story outside the confines of faculty inboxes and admissions folders. Written by Wendy Ruderman, it began: “Mackenzie Fierceton grew up poor, cycling through the rocky child welfare system. She bounced from one foster home to the next.” Nicholas Kristof, a New York times journalist, retweeted the Ruderman article. On November 23, Fierceton sent a tweet to Mr. Kristof, thanking him for retweeting the article.
45. Former acquaintances in Fierceton’s hometown took note as the story circulated around the country. On the same day that Kristof retweeted the article, Penn received an anonymous email. The author first noted their relationship as a former friend and classmate of Fierceton’s (then-Mackenzie Morrison), and offered this insight: I was very surprised at the inaccurate portrayal of her life. … Where I strongly support her activism surrounding the foster care system, I find her claims disheartening. Growing up in the foster care system, being a first generation student or growing up in a low income household brings real hardship … That hardship cannot be attributed to someone who had the privilege to live in a graduate school level educated home and go to a private, college prep school. It pains me to see the girl we all supported, housed, and rallied behind when she left her mom’s house to falsely claim the hardship of others for her own gain.
46. The anonymous email was only the beginning. People from the St. Louis area who knew Fierceton called Penn, identifying themselves by name and refuting Fierceton’s portrayal as a low-income, first generation student who grew up in foster care."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The university, which literally has the letters, indicated it was an acquaintance in their filed answer. I just read their answer and I have to say, Fierceton doesn’t come across all that well. The university response is meticulous and detailed.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21174416-penn-answer

It wasn’t the mother.

LOL the university look petty and incompetent. Hope a lot of people lose their jobs. Bet they treat rape victims the same way.

This is what an organized, paid for, smear campaign looks like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The university, which literally has the letters, indicated it was an acquaintance in their filed answer. I just read their answer and I have to say, Fierceton doesn’t come across all that well. The university response is meticulous and detailed.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21174416-penn-answer

It wasn’t the mother.

LOL the university look petty and incompetent. Hope a lot of people lose their jobs. Bet they treat rape victims the same way.

This is what an organized, paid for, smear campaign looks like.

What? That’s a legal brief. Penn has to have basis for everything they state in their answers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the Penn response (TLDR: it wasn't the mother who outed her - NYT columnist Nick Kristof did her in!):
"Fierceton’s Story is Exposed
44. The Philadelphia Inquirer story, published just one day after Fierceton was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, spread her false story outside the confines of faculty inboxes and admissions folders. Written by Wendy Ruderman, it began: “Mackenzie Fierceton grew up poor, cycling through the rocky child welfare system. She bounced from one foster home to the next.” Nicholas Kristof, a New York times journalist, retweeted the Ruderman article. On November 23, Fierceton sent a tweet to Mr. Kristof, thanking him for retweeting the article.
45. Former acquaintances in Fierceton’s hometown took note as the story circulated around the country. On the same day that Kristof retweeted the article, Penn received an anonymous email. The author first noted their relationship as a former friend and classmate of Fierceton’s (then-Mackenzie Morrison), and offered this insight: I was very surprised at the inaccurate portrayal of her life. … Where I strongly support her activism surrounding the foster care system, I find her claims disheartening. Growing up in the foster care system, being a first generation student or growing up in a low income household brings real hardship … That hardship cannot be attributed to someone who had the privilege to live in a graduate school level educated home and go to a private, college prep school. It pains me to see the girl we all supported, housed, and rallied behind when she left her mom’s house to falsely claim the hardship of others for her own gain.
46. The anonymous email was only the beginning. People from the St. Louis area who knew Fierceton called Penn, identifying themselves by name and refuting Fierceton’s portrayal as a low-income, first generation student who grew up in foster care."

I wonder why the crazy posters has been insisting it was the mother. Penn has the letters. They wouldn’t write that in a legal response without proof.

[Anonymous]

I recommend reading the article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed. You have to register to read it, but it is free.

Her undergrad application says a lot more than that she was in foster care. However, there is also what she put on her graduate school app. According to the Chronicle's discussion of the Rhodes Trust's investigation...

"It zeroes in on a question in her master’s application: “Are you the first generation in your family to attend college?” To that, she answered “yes.” "

[Anonymous]

Maybe this incident will prompt the Rhodes Scholar selection committee and others like them to reevaluate the essay process?

I know someone affiliated with the process who says each essay is better than the last when it comes to a personal sob story followed by extremely noble volunteerism. Academics aren’t the focus. Ethics aren’t considered. It’s poverty porn followed by overcoming adversity and giving back.

In short: none of the privileged or even average kids from Dcumlandia have a chance.