Weekly Scroll for March 15, 2019

News, tips and advice from the Quill and Scroll International Honor Society
Compiled and written by Quill and Scroll journalist Caley Griebenow

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The Lede

FBI charges various celebrities with fraud in massive college admissions scandal

It was revealed three days ago that dozens of wealthy parents, from Hollywood actors to business leaders, had paid exceptionally large sums of money to obtain acceptance to selective schools such as The University of Southern California, Georgetown University, Yale, and Stanford for their kids. The Justice Department’s investigation of this scheme spanned six states, 200 agents and a total of 50 people charged. Among the various celebrities charged are Television star Lori Loughlin, known from her role in Full House, her husband Mossimo Giannulli, and actress Felicity Huffman.

In addition to the vast amounts of payments to secure admission, some parents were also accused of falsely portraying their kids as star athletes in order for elite college coaches to recruit them, as well as hiring third parties to take standardized tests, or having their child fake a disability in order to obtain a higher score with the help of a complicit proctor. For instance, Loughlin’s daughter, social media influencer and USC student Olivia Jade, was recruited for the school’s crew team despite never playing the sport. Olivia even admitted on a now viral YouTube video that she doesn’t “really care about school.“

This case highlights the economic disparities that exist in the world of college admissions, and how the very wealthy can seemingly buy their way into elite colleges and institutions. Questions of both economic and white privilege are being discussed as more stories and updates about the scandal pour in.  Read the New York Times’ report here.

It’s An Honor

2019 Writing, Multimedia and Photo Contest Winners!

McCallum High School of Austin, Texas has won the 2019 Blue and Gold Award for Staff Excellence in the 2019 Quill and Scroll International Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest.

Students from five countries submitted 2,486 entries over all 30 categories, and judges chose 268 winning entries produced by 319 students, or National Winners. Every winning entry earns a Quill and Scroll Gold Key.

Quill and Scroll honors Sweepstakes Winners (First Place) in every category with a special framed certificate. All National Winners (Sweepstakes, Second Place, Third Place and Honorable Mention) receive award letters and are eligible to apply for Quill and Scroll Scholarships, which have an application deadline of May 10.

The individual winners are all listed here.

Schools with the most winning entries receive Blue and Gold Awards for Writing, Visual and Overall Excellence. Here are those winning schools:

Staff Excellence

1. McCallum High School, Austin, Texas

Visual Excellence

1. McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
2. Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
3. Johnston High School, Johnston, Iowa (Tie) and Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana (Tie)

Writing Excellence

1. McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
2. St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
3. Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, Texas

If you would like a slideshow of the winning entries, with links to and visual representations of the top three entries in all 30 categories, please email Executive Director Jeff Browne at [email protected].

Ordering information for our members

We once again highly encourage any schools wishing to send in orders of pins, t-shirts, cords, etc. to do so sooner rather than later. After April 1, our office becomes very busy with an large influx of orders; as a result, we ask for your patience and allow at least three weeks for your order to be processed and completed. We also need a form of payment (check, purchase order, credit card payment) before we ship.

News Media Evaluation Service

Student Advisory Board applications

Adviser scholarships

Student scholarships

What’s viral?

Bloomberg uses Twitter to explain how grounding Boeing 737 MAX aircraft affects you

Following mounting pressure from aviation experts and passengers alike, President Trump announced on March 13 that his administration would be halting all Boeing 737 aircrafts after the fatal crash of flight 302 in Ethiopia that killed all 157 of its passengers. Reports show that the captain requested a landing only three minutes after takeoff, citing the plane’s abnormal acceleration. Air traffic control lost communication five minutes after takeoff.

This decision comes after the US originally said the planes could continue flying despite the deadly crash days prior.

Paid reporting opportunity for girls

Just a Thought

Teen Suicide: The causes and how journalists should cover it

Psychology researchers this week released a report that indicates today’s teens have a higher suicide rate than previous generations did when they were adolescents. Researchers couldn’t specifically pinpoint reasons, but their work leads them to believe that social media and a lack of sleep are major contributors.

If you are faced with the question of if you should write about suicide in your school or community, please check out the site “Reporting on Suicide,” which was developed by psychologists, doctors, journalists and other professionals who want to help reduce the number of suicides in the U.S.

Scientists: Pollution is a class and race issue

Scientists have found that air pollution is disproportionately caused by white Americans and disproportionately inhaled by black and Hispanic Americans.

“Inequity in exposure to air pollution is well documented, but this study brings in the consumption angle,” one researcher said. “If you’re contributing less to the problem, why do you have to suffer more from it?”