The last couple of days have been amusing as various celebrities have been entangled with federal crimes concerning issues over fraud and bribery over college admissions for their precious offspring. At a time with justice and equality are rising as political concerns and coupled with the dazzling nature of celebrity it is no surprise that this news story is finding its legs.

My reactions fall into one of two major lines of thought.

First off; no duh. It is of absolutely no surprise that these sort of things are going on, the only original element is that these lower tier celebs had to resort to criminal means instead of the usual just buy your way in with an overly generous ‘gift’ as the more wealthy does. An elite institution will admit anyone if there is a large enough endowment attached. This is the real affirmative action crisis, mediocre and worse student taking up valuable slots in important institutions solely because of the accident of their birth. This does not stop at the university; it extends through internships and entry into the halls of power, both economic and political. I have read, though not yet confirmed, that the number of legacy students, i.e. sons and daughters of former students, at elite universities outnumber the total number of non-white students. This is the lie at the heart of ‘merit.’ Too often what people think was merit is a perk of class and nothing more.

Second this is also a function of gate-keeping and elitism. Harvard, Yale, and many other ‘elite’ institutions are sitting on vast fortunes. They could open dozens of schools across the country, vastly increasing the number students, graduates, and accelerating human advancement but that would destroy their brand as their only real value is the artificially restricted enrollments.