Operation Varsity Blues: Mission Accomplished
photo courtesy of @operationvarsitybluesnetflix Instagram
Last month, Netflix launched their new documentary, “Operation Varsity Blues,” that covers the college admissions scandal in 2019, and it's safe to say that we're 100% here for it. After being outraged and yet intrigued about how celebrities Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman cheated their children’s way into universities under everyone's noses, we finally got some answers.
Following Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the operation, a big part of the documentary is presented in reenactments of his dealings with the rich families involved based on conversations recorded by the FBI. This is how we're introduced to his "side door" approach to college admissions, which consisted of faking standardized test scores and paying coaches to falsify recruitment documents. With these reenactments, the documentary conveys the parents' motives and logic behind hiring Singer's services, letting us into the highly exclusive bubble of Hollywood millionaires.
Yet, it’s nearly impossible to empathize with them (no surprise there), considering how the college admissions process is tailored to benefit individuals from high-income homes. With SAT prep tutors and extracurricular activities, these families had every opportunity to help their kids get into a good university. However, they still thought it was necessary to cheat a system that was already rigged in their favor, taking opportunities away from students who actually deserved it.
Nonetheless, the criticism in the documentary is directed more towards the entire college admissions system than towards the individuals trying to cheat it. The documentary argues that exclusivity has become a major selling point of America’s "prestigious" institutions, turning higher education into a commodity and shrinking acceptance rates to the single digits. Those of us who have been through the admissions process have felt the pressure to be a part of the “cool-kids club.” We do more extracurriculars, take more AP classes, and try to be better than our peers. Otherwise, they won’t let you in.
It's clear with social media that students feel more and more the need to attend these elite institutions as validation of their self-worth. College admission videos go viral all the time, and it's easy to see how this insane selection process is affecting the mental health of many in younger generations. Education isn't one-size-fits-all, and it's time to create a new admissions system that reflects that, prioritizing the expansion of higher education instead of profiting from its exclusivity. “Operation Varsity Blues” brings these issues to light, but it's up to us to continue the conversation and strive for change.