Harvard rescinds offers to 10 incoming students after discovering racist posts in secret Facebook gr

[TheBlackAdder]

.

(EXCERPT)

Harvard has rescinded offers to at least ten prospective students after discovering they posted racist and sexist messages in a private Facebook group last year.

The Harvard Crimson reports that the school discovered a private Facebook group called “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens” where several students were found to be posting memes that made jokes about “sexual assault, the Holocaust, and the deaths of children.” Some students also “joked” about being sexually aroused by seeing children get abused, while others posted memes about hanging Mexicans.

The university revoked offers to the students in mid-April and has not reversed any of its decisions.

Incoming Harvard freshman Jessica Zhang tells the Crimson that she believed the school was justified in rescinding its offers, as the memes posted by the students were simply beyond the pale.

(END EXCERPT)


http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/harvard-rescinds-offers-to-10-incoming-students-after-discovering-racist-posts-in-secret-facebook-group/


I keep telling my kids, "Watch the stuff you post online. You never know how it will impact you later."

.

[Not Ruth]

1. Getting into Harvard does not make you smarter than a 10 year old

I do not care for the free speech implications, but anyone could have seen this setup from a mile away. Likely to have come from the Harvard waitlist Facebook group.

[still_one]

4. Actually, I don't think there are any free speech implications. Nothing restricted them from

exercising their free speech.

I don't even think there would be right to privacy expectations.

[mountain grammy]

51. Exactly!

They can babble their bullshit and put it all out there for all to see.. they just can't go to Harvard.

[Phoenix61]

6. What free speech implications and what set up?

Harvard is a private college. As long as they are complying with federal anti-discrimination laws they can choose to allow or refuse entry to anyone they want. If it did come from the Harvard waitlist Facebook group then they were really, really stupid.

[angstlessk]

10. Does Not (being) Ruth make you 'ruthless'?

[NCTraveler]

18. "I do not care for the free speech implications"

What free speech implications are you talking about?

[Not Ruth]

29. The purpose of allowing freedom of speech at a private college is not to choose a side

It is to provoke discourse, necessitating exposure to a viewpoint that one can argue against. The point being to exercise a developing mind. It is very different than the freedom of speech that one enjoys outside of college. When this freedom of speech at a college creates a situation that is physically dangerous, then safeguards are created for the protection of all. An invitation only, private online group, which was offensive at the outset, not illegal, does not appear to be one that creates a physically dangerous situation.

[NCTraveler]

31. What?

That is an argument without solid ground.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

37. .

[wildeyed]

65. Yeah, because a person who post about being sexually aroused by abused children

and lynching Mexicans is def someone you would feel safe sharing a dorm with your a Mexican-American kid. Or any kid.

It's straight-up depravity. People that morally corrupt need help, not 'discourse'.

[Not Ruth]

67. My personal opinion that 10% (based on 10 out of 100) Harvard students are naive and stupid enough

to be lured into doing something online that is destructive and immature rather than to believe them to be morally corrupt enough to do actual physical harm to children and Mexicans. Of course such potential criminals exist, but not in those numbers, again in my opinion. You are the first to say that they would be unsafe in the company of other students. Several here thought that they would be fine at another school.

[wildeyed]

71. Well you know what they say about opinions....

How were they 'lured'? People old enough to serve in the military, vote and go to jail joined a shit-posting meme group of their own free and made horrifically violent racist and pedophiliac posts. They are not the victims here. They are simply being held accountable for their depravity.

I dunno, maybe Harvard has a moral issue with normalizing violent pedophilia and white supremacy in the name of humor. I read the WaPo article.... Memes about lynching Mexican children and calling it a piñata haha!!!

[brush]

78. Maybe try your arguments on a more trumpian, right-leaning site where past free speech is ignored

[Not Ruth]

79. Scientists agree that the brain is not fully formed until about age 25

I call it naïveté and immaturity. It means the same thing.

[athena]

83. Not all young people are equally immature.

Many young people are very mature at a young age. While the brain may not be fully formed at the age of 17, it's not very far from being fully formed. We also know that sociopaths display the kind of behavior these young people displayed -- they tend to abuse animals as children and show a total lack of empathy for their fellow human beings starting at a very early age. Sociopathy has no cure. Why is it so wrong to try to keep sociopaths out of a university, which is supposed to be a nurturing place?

It's disturbing, but the kind of sympathy we're seeing for sociopaths on this thread explains why Americans have elected a narcissist to run the country. Americans seem to care more about what happens to priviliged white men who lack empathy than they do about what happens to minorities and poor people. Increasingly, Americans admire heartlessness and callousness and see empathy and sensitivity as signs of weakness. I despair for the future of this country.

If I had a kid who got into Harvard, I wouldn't want her to be anywhere near this bunch. And that's precisely why Harvard rescinded their acceptance letters. You can advocate as much as you want in favor of these sociopaths; Harvard is going to care more about the opinions of the parents of the entering class of students.

[brush]

88. That's supposed to be an excuse? Send that to Paul Ryan. He still believes Ayn Rand's foolisness.

[Not Ruth]

90. I am not sure why you mention these people

They are not scientists

[brush]

95. And I'm not sure why you're defending racist social media posters.

And I mentioned Paul Ryan, our 50-something Speaker of the House, because he's a still a Rand follower, something people usually outgrow in 10th grade, so your argument about mental development is clearly not fully developed.

[Not Ruth]

97. Because they are still developing

Ariana Grande for example. Today, she is considered a courageous hero. A symbol for all to aspire to be. A month ago, people looked down on her for actions that occurred when she was younger.

[brush]

99. Try this. Don't make excuses for racists. They might make it to the White House if not called on it.

Last edited Mon Jun 5, 2017, 11:55 PM - Edit history (1)

[Not Ruth]

103. I will throw in Miley Cyrus to counter

Someone with a youth that had many thinking that she would be dead in a year. Accused of racism in the form of cultural appropriation. Yet there she was, America's hero, on the stage with Ariana. Someone that made herself into someone to be proud of.

[joeybee12]

106. I'd like to join the many people here

[Who are criticizing your lack of knowledge on free speech, developmental psychology as well as your inability to comprehend that kids accepted to a college are not on campus yet.

[SCantiGOP]

23. the "free speech implication"

is that they had the right to post their comments. They do not have any right not to suffer the consequences of those posts.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

36. "Setup"?

Do tell.

[Not Ruth]

47. Who benefits?

The 10 students that came off the waitlist

[WhiskeyGrinder]

50. But what's the setup?

[Caliman73]

52. Probably...

The 10 students who may have been equally qualified, but who were wait listed, and who did not post jokes about rape and hanging people.

This is a private university that offered preliminary admission to a group of students. Upon finding out information that the University chose not to associate with, they rescinded the offers. If it were my child who made those posts, I would not be upset at the University. I would be embarrassed and upset at myself and the kid for making such stupid comments.

[wildeyed]

66. If my kid was going, I would not want them to associate with people who think lynching

is funny. The ENTIRE school benefits from not having a bunch of depraved Less Than Zero wanna bes running around campus. Considering the elite stature of Harvard and the positions of influence many of their graduates end up controlling, the ENTIRE country and even world benefit from having this group out of the running.

Sorry, but if you are already 17 or 18 are this morally impaired, I don't see it getting a whole bunch better.

[hunter]

69. That's a GOOD thing!

Harvard has no shortage of extremely well qualified applicants.

Why should they accept any internet jerk-offs?

[tammywammy]

40. Harvard reserves the right to revoke admission

From WaPo:
According to Harvard college admissions policies, the university reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission if the admitted student “engages or has engaged in behavior that brings into question their honesty, maturity or moral character,” among other conditions, Dane told The Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/05/harvard-withdraws-10-acceptances-for-offensive-memes-in-private-chat/?utm_term=.d8cd48066d56

[X_Digger]

80. Free clue: free speech is a protection from GOVERNMENT interference

You have no expectation or protection of 'free speech' in a private context.

I can kick your ass out of my house for saying 'Chartreuse' without affecting your right to free speech.

[Kleveland]

2. Wow, now that is a spanking not to be soon forgotten!

Consider all of that hard work, only to have it burned down by one's own stupidity.

I am sure one of those horrifying Right Wing Evangelical colleges would love to welcome them into the fold.

They have plenty of Kool-Aid mixed up and ready to.

[Happyhippychick]

3. Good for them

[m-lekktor]

8. You might be surprised. nt

[NobodyHere]

14. You think liberals never laugh at dark jokes?

[not fooled]

41. Rational liberals choosing to make dark jokes

wouldn't be surprised at the consequences. And wouldn't likely be making the kind of postings aka "jokes" referred to in this case.

[bettyellen]

44. Bill Maher did.

[DefenseLawyer]

7. I think high school and college kids should be allowed to say stupid things and have stupid ideas.

Including making tasteless, stupid jokes. I'd rather expose them to better ideas and better experiences so they learn why those stupid ideas are wrong. But that's just me.

[angstlessk]

11. Well, there's stupid and then there is SICK...these must have been

over the top!

[DefenseLawyer]

12. Well then perhaps counseling would be in order. They are still kids.

If it's only Harvard, fine, then they've proven a point, a lesson is presumable learned, and everyone moves on. But if these kids are now blackballed from every decent school in America we are doing a disservice to ourselves and to these kids. This should be a learning experience.

[angstlessk]

16. Like someone else said. If they were accepted to Harvard, they

probably have many other schools from which to choose. A less prestigious school would be a life lesson.

[DefenseLawyer]

17. I agree, except others have already said "And I hope every other school does the same thing"

Sometimes the mob loses perspective.

[angstlessk]

20. If I must be in a mob,

I want to be in that 'mob' in London...running with beer in hand..no knees jerking

[hunter]

34. Maybe Wal-Mart will hire them.

I know our local Wal-Mart would be a learning experience for them; I've never seen a more diverse group of employees or customers anywhere.

Colleges place too much emphasis on 4.5 grade point averages and perfect or near-perfect SAT scores. Achieving these shouldn't automatically make you a candidate for college.

If it was up to me, I'd eliminate mandatory kindergarten, half of first, half of 11th, and all of 12th grade. 17-18 year olds shouldn't be anywhere near a high school, they should be doing some sort of military or community service, thrown in together and expected to work with a fully random selection of their fellow citizens, with no exceptions for rich kids or anyone else.

[wildeyed]

73. No, they're 18.

Legally adults. And these were not just tasteless jokes. They were jokes about murdering Mexican children and becoming sexually aroused by it. That depraved. And this IS a learning experience. They now know that in the adult world, you receive serious consequences for that kind of thing. I would fire an employee soooooo fast if I found a post like that online. I manage a huge number of millennials and deal with their poor judgement decisions all the time. Mostly I write them up and they have to watch the harassment video again and write a short explanation of why the thing they did was wrong and how they won't do it again. But posting memes about lynching minority children and getting a hard-on over it is a you're fired, get your things now, get out, if you come back, I'll call the police kind of event.

I am sure that Harvard is not making their names public and they almost certainly come from well-off families. They will attend another institution of higher learning somewhere. The poor 'kids' will be fine. 'Kids' like that always get many extra chances.

[LanternWaste]

13. No one is preventing high school and college kids from saying stupid things

No one is preventing high school and college kids from saying stupid things and having stupid ideas. But that's just me...

[DefenseLawyer]

15. You and I just have a different world view. That's fine.

I think most people can be rehabilitated.

[calimary]

56. Maybe that's part of the problem?

As a mother, I am often sent back to the basic question "who the hell brought them up?"

[NCTraveler]

19. These people are being accepted into a community with others.

You shouldn't separate the decision from the acceptance board from learning. I actually have no clue how you make that leap. It is a teaching and learning moment.

[DefenseLawyer]

24. I think most mistakes in life are an opportunity to learn.

I went to a very good private school for undergrad, on scholarship. I was exposed to clueless rich guys, misogynist frat guys, racists, fascists, douchebags and all manner of stupidity. That's part of the experience. Obviously if someone acts in a way that infringes on anyone else's ability to learn, that has to be dealt with. If it's just that they don't get into Harvard, they'll be fine and, hopefully, will have learned a hard lesson. But at least for me, making stupid mistakes as a kid shouldn't ruin your life. I just think there may have been another way to handle it.

[NCTraveler]

30. There are hundreds of ways to handle it.

The way they did will be an excellent learning experience and help to protect. Seems you actually agree while attempting to disagree.

"If it's just that they don't get into Harvard, they'll be fine and, hopefully, will have learned a hard lesson."

See. We agree.

[Midnight Writer]

33. I did not get into Harvard. It did not "ruin my life". I did just fine.

And so did millions of others.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

38. "I think most mistakes in life are an opportunity to learn."

This one definitely is. Getting accepted to Harvard and having it rescinded implies a level of privilege such that the issue will ruin your life only if you let it.

[athena]

81. Why are you so upset about a bunch of priviliged

young white males having their lives "ruined"? The places they had at Harvard could have been given to equally intelligent and more deserving students. What is it about being a rich white male that makes one entitled to a Harvard education? Harvard, like all ivy league universities, greatly favors legacy students in its admissions. A student who has a family member who graduated from Harvard has roughly a 30% chance of being accepted, which is four times higher than the probability of a non-legacy applicant being accepted. These kids were almost certainly legacy admits. Why is it so sad that they have lost their places, when so many worthy students from poor families could have had their place? Why is it a bigger tragedy when a wealthy white male doesn't get to go to Harvard than when a poor Black female doesn't get to go to Harvard, assuming the same level of academic excellence?

I think your priorities are badly misplaced. I think you need to spend some time seriously asking yourself why you're so disturbed by a member of a very priviliged class losing a tiny bit of his privilege because of his own actions.

[DefenseLawyer]

94. What possibly gave you the impression that I am upset?

I'm just having a discussion.

[athena]

98. You're clearly very concerned

about these sociopathic young men and the fact that you think not going to Harvard will "ruin" their "life" (your words).

[DefenseLawyer]

100. I have made a career out of helping people that you hate.

It bothers me not in the least that you see things differently than I do. I'm perhaps not as quick to cast aside people, especially young people, that are misguided or troubled or both, as perhaps you are. Your view is to deem someone a "sociopath" and say "fuck you, loser". Mine is to deem someone a sociopath and say "Hey, maybe we don't want a sociopath just cast aside and left to his own devices. That's probably going to end badly for everyone. " Potato potahto

[athena]

101. Hate?

How is it hate to advocate against special, favorable treatment for those who are incapable of empathy, love, or compassion? How is it hate to punish them for behavior that would get any other, less privileged group punished? Your career may require you to defend sociopaths, but that doesn't mean they're worthy of special treatment no other group gets. Manipulation is what sociopaths excel at. It seems they have manipulated you to join their side. Because when you start accusing people of "hate" for refusing special treatment for a disturbingly hateful group of people, you have redefined "up" as "down", "north" as "south", and "night" as "day".

The more opportunities you give sociopaths, the more power they will accumulate, and the more dangerous they will become. By giving a sociopath a Harvard education, you're allowing him to attain levels of success and power he could not access otherwise. You're also hurting a lot of people who have rightfully deserved a Harvard education through their hard work, extracurricular activities, and behavior. That sociopath you're so intent upon defending might rape a woman at Harvard, cheat a poor student out of his money, or get an innocent student kicked out, all just to amuse himself. That's what sociopaths do. How can you truly believe that the life of that sociopath matters more than the lives of the people he will destroy?

I'm done with this. It seems to me that you are completely in denial. I'm so glad I didn't choose the law as my career.

[JI7]

22. i don't think anyone is stopping them from it

[askyagerz]

26. I was a butthead teenager.

But sure don't remember joking about getting sexually aroused by children or hanging mexicans.If Harvard wants the best of the best then these kids weren't it. Most 10 year olds I know wouldn't say something like that because they know the difference between right and wrong

[wildeyed]

74. I feel sorry for kids who cut themselves or have eating disorders.

Kids who post racist violent images, not so much.

[Jakes Progress]

45. Sure they can.

They have that right. But maybe I don't want tasteless, stupid people at my university. Harvard has that right. Cuts both ways.

[athena]

68. So you think racists and sexists should be preferred over more thoughtful students?

Only 5.4% of applicants are admitted to Harvard. That's 54 students out of a thousand applicants. Why would you offer a first-rate education to a sociopath whose heart is already filled with hate and who will likely make other students' lives miserable, when you can offer it to so many more deserving students -- students who treat others with respect and understand that everyone is equal regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion?

Your post is disturbingly reminiscent of the comments made by the TV anchors who were upset about how rape had ruined the lives of a bunch of young white-male rapists. Just because a white male sociopath got into Harvard doesn't make him more deserving of a Harvard education than a non-white-male non-sociopath. (It's always white male sociopaths people feel sorry for. No one ever feels sorry for a Black student or a female student or a Chinese student who got kicked out of a top university because of a mistake s/he made.)

[wildeyed]

77. Or the ones who never get in because the white male legacy sociopath took their spot.

But somehow affirmative action is bad

There are DOZENS of equally qualified students for every spot at places like Harvard. Graduates make contacts that allow them to rise to the highest levels of business and government. My heart is not breaking because these psychos blew their shot.

[athena]

87. I happen to be white.

Are you suggesting I hate myself?

Thanks for the personal attack, by the way. That's what people tend to resort to when they don't have a logical argument to make. I love personal attacks because they show how weak the attacker's position is. Welcome back to ignore.

[frankieallen]

93. I tried to delete my post before you responded, I wasn't

fast enough. Wasn't a personal attack, I just don't like to see hate directed at any specific group of people. I hope things get better for you.

[Maraya1969]

9. Joking about being sexually around when seeing children abused??? I hope the police investigate

whoever this or these sick people are.

[SunSeeker]

21. Aaaaw. Some spoiled, twisted brats got their dream school taken away from them.

[rusty fender]

35. +1000!

Boo hoo, baby deplorables

[Madam45for2923]

25. Good! They might get sued though, but good anyway.

[SHRED]

27. I'm wondering how Harvard saw these?

Glad they did though.

[forgotmylogin]

55. Because Facebook is public?

[SHRED]

59. I get that

I thought these were posts they made to their timeline.
If so then they are not very bright to have then public.

[forgotmylogin]

61. It sounds like they were in some kind of interest group

with the word "Harvard" in it. You don't want people to be able to Google your name and "Harvard" and come up with those types of results.

Yep: "... the school discovered a private Facebook group called “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens” where several students were found to be posting memes that made jokes about “sexual assault, the Holocaust, and the deaths of children.” Some students also “joked” about being sexually aroused by seeing children get abused, while others posted memes about hanging Mexicans."

For the record, I think there's a huge difference between firing someone for writing racist things and joking about child abuse on social media (especially under the balloon of your company/school name), and companies firing someone for seeing that they're having some drinks and party fun over their weekends, which is I think what people here might be concerned about.

[SCantiGOP]

28. What I told my kids:

Don't put anything on the internet that you wouldn't be willing to write on a poster, put on the school bulletin board, and then have a picture of you next to it run on the front page of the paper.

[Caliman73]

54. Yep. Or that you wouldn't say directly to someone's face.

I tell my children the same thing.

[Locrian]

32. seems like

There's a creeping sickness where it's considered cool to be nihilist about *everything*. The cruder the better, where it's a weakness to show you actually care about something.

I remember seeing and doing a lot of stupid things, but with RARE occurrence didn't see this type of "joking". Maybe the internet exposed it more? Or maybe everything is amped up - and by *having* more exposure there's a feedback look occurring of "one-upmanship" in terms of how low can you go? Plus the anonymity?

It just seems like it's very feral in terms of being alpha at any cost, and it's "sticking" past the age where you're supposed to outgrow being a 12 year old. There's nothing "alpha" or "strong" about not caring for anything.

[bucolic_frolic]

39. The narcissistic online social media mind

is a bit divorced from ordinary, common sense ethics and morality.

Deep thinking is no longer cultivated, it's too long term.

What kind of world has the internet raised?

[Freethinker65]

42. I am conflicted on this decision

While I in no way condone such behavior, and have lectured my own son about such behaviors to the point of nagging and probably becoming a "bitch" in his opinion, to rescind an educational offer based upon posted memes and chats on a private online group seems to cross the line.

I can imagine kids, and perhaps even my son, doing something similar pre-college, from their insulated secure surroundings. While I cannot say for sure there were not kids in the private Harvard FB group that wholeheartedly believed what they were posting and would exhibit those behaviors in the real world, I bet there were quite a few that saw the postings as more of an adult version of something like the "dead baby jokes" so stupidly popular years ago.

One would hope that once these students do leave their familiar neighborhood and friends surroundings and venture off to continue their education, they will meet others with differing perspectives and backgrounds which in turn will change their online/offline behavior for the better.

[Jakes Progress]

43. Nice advice. Better would be to tell them not to be racists.

Good for Harvard. Better to reject them now rather than deal with the lawsuits later.

I'm sure they'll get into Liberty University.

[SaschaHM]

46. Good.

[workinclasszero]

48. Poor widdle rich sicko republican babies

I'm crying a river for you, junior deplorables.

Fuck off assholes

[delisen]

49. Now if only they would end their legacy admissions.

[wildeyed]

76. I recently read that legacy admission were an antisemitic ploy to keep

Jewish students out, back in the day. Schools in other countries don't do that. So yeah, it would be great if they would get rid of it, but the rich alumni who control the system will never allow it.

[athena]

85. These days, it's all about money.

Children of Harvard graduates are more likely to have families with money than children of non-Harvard graduates. Since all ivy leagues practice need-blind admission these days, giving preference to legacy students is a way for these universities to reduce the amount of financial aid they have to pay out.

[wildeyed]

92. Considering the incredible size of their endowment,

you gotta wonder what Harvard is saving all the money for.

[rpannier]

102. And often it is the graduates who donate large

amounts of money with the expectations that their kids will receive preferential treatment.
That's not unheard of at most private universities and high schools

[Sneederbunk]

53. A Life Lesson

Not to worry. Always room for you at Liberty, Bob Jones or Oral Roberts.

[workinclasszero]

58. Yup

[calimary]

60. Welcome to DU, Sneederbunk!

Totally agree. I'd be ashamed if my kids did that. And I'd be horrified if they expressed that kind of thinking in any public forum (including the private ones). And if it meant their admissions to Harvard were rescinded, well, so be it. Actions have consequences. And a Harvard acceptance letter is a PRIVILEGE. NOT a right.

[dembotoz]

57. wouldn't you just love to be a fly on the wall when those 10 puddin heads get to tell their parents

but i would be curious just how far these acorns fell from their parental trees....

hate to laugh at the misfortune of others


no i don't

[greymattermom]

62. Yep, I tell my grown children

that anything on the internet is public information and never disappears. They don't post much except recipes and pictures of hikes, but sometimes they look at stuff posted by others. Is that being nosy? I say not. If it's on the internet and you can see it, that's what the person intended.

[LisaM]

63. I've seen instances of middle school private FB groups that referenced the school name

and had to be shut down (I can't say where; I learned this through my work). In that case, it was students ganging up and saying mean things about each other, actually, mean things about some young female students. Anyway, my larger point is that these groups pop up well before college and by this point, the students should have known better - in particular, they should have known not to associate the Harvard name with this - and prepared for the consequences. With as rigorous as the admissions process is to get into these schools, and with as much time as these kids have to spend doing community service work, extra-curricular activities, and the like, I don't understand how they could drop the ball this close to the finish line. It doesn't seem as if they should have been surprised by this, because as I mentioned, these groups crop up as early as middle school and presumably the schools make a point to reinforce that you can't associate the school name with this kind of behavior. Note: I don't think that any group should exist to do the things that these students did, but in this case, they should have been well aware not to participate in this kind of a sub rosa group identifying with the school.

[Azathoth]

64. They rescinded the offer based on their "moral character" policy

The same kind of policy that organizations once used to exclude other "objectionable" people like gays and communists.

[hunter]

89. You forgot the sarcasm tag... right?

[Azathoth]

104. No, I didn't

That was the justification they used -- they reserve the right to rescind their offer if they learn something new about the "moral character" of the applicants.

I assume you see the obvious and disturbing irony of using that kind of loophole clause to ban students for sharing pictures online, given how it was used in the past.

[hunter]

105. So, you are comparing gay kids to racists or racists to gay kids... Which is it?

[Azathoth]

107. Crude and logically-flawed demagogy won't get you anywhere

Clearly you like arbitrarily-defined "moral character" clauses, just as long as they are used against people you don't like.

(And it's probably not even worth pointing out that it isn't just gay people who have suffered from those kinds of clauses over the years.)

[hunter]

108. I don't like racists or homophobes. Fuck 'em.

Hell, I don't even like modern Republicans, especially those deplorables who still support Trump.

Explain to me what's wrong with that.

Kids do stupid things and there are consequences. These kids will now have to explain to their parents how they got dis-accepted to Harvard.

Good. Applicants who are not obvious assholes will rightfully take their places.

I graduated from a University top ten in my field. It took nine years. I was "asked" to take time out twice for my "eccentric" (to put it mildly) behavior. But it wasn't for hating on anyone in misogynistic, racist, homophobic, religious, or even nationalistic ways, not even ironically.

These kids may learn the lesson, maybe not, but Harvard wasn't wrong to exclude them. Harvard has plenty of very well qualified and deserving applicants on their waiting list who are not internet assholes.

[Azathoth]

109. facepalm

"Hell, I don't even like modern Republicans, especially those deplorables who still support Trump.

Explain to me what's wrong with that."

If you can't see what's wrong with taking your dislike of people and codifying it into institutional policies designed to disadvantage and exclude them, then I can't help you.

The people you hate write screeds exactly like yours, with the exception that the words "deplorables" and "Republicans" are replaced with "liberals" and "Democrats."

You're espousing the deplorable ideology, just with different proper nouns.

[hunter]

110. Bullshit.

Like I said, is being gay equivalent to being racist, or is it the other way around with you?

[Azathoth]

111. And once again, you fall back on meaningless demogogy

And you also seem relentlessly stuck on the gay example. How about being a Communist? Or a Fascist or Scientologist for that matter?

It's clear you like the idea of discriminating against people with inferior "moral character," just as long as you get to decide what constitutes "moral."

[hunter]

112. I can play the communist angle too.

One of my grandfather's brothers was an Ivy League mad scientist and communist pre-World War II, which caused my straight laced Army Air Force officer grandfather (and later Apollo Project engineer) a great deal of trouble when it came to security clearances and such. Fortunately my great uncle wasn't keen on Stalin, he was much more a domestic Woody Guthrie sort, highly eccentric, and generally regarded as harmless. He even wrote a book with a lot of quirky socialist "free love" stuff in it. (My grandfather and his brother loved women, all women, and a few women loved them back...)

Had my grandfather been denied security clearances because his brother was a "communist" that would have been unjust.

Had my grandfather and his brother been kissing Stalin's "communist" ass, security clearances might have been justly denied.

I won't play the game of false equivalencies.

The crap these kids were posting on the internet is not in any way equivalent to being gay or communist. I have a lot of bad things to say about fascists and Scientologists, but these kids were not rejected from Harvard because they were fascists or Scientologists.

[MichMan]

70. Long as they hold current students to the same standards

Harvard is certainly in their right to not admit these students for their social media statements and hopefully that will send a message to others.

That being said, they better show consistency and demand the same standards apply to current students. Anyone making racist comments or advocating violence either in protests or social media should be expelled as well.

[treestar]

72. Smart enough to get into Harvard

but not smart enough not to make comments like that. Book smart only, I guess.

[wildeyed]

75. Smart but not good.

As a culture, we focus so much on being the smartest and richest, but there is no focus on being good. These kids are horrible, but elite universities in this country seem to select for that trait (to some extent) on purpose. They look for that hyper competitive aggression and drive over quieter kids who might be better pure scholars.

[aikoaiko]

82. No need to worry about these youths. Princeton has probably offered them scholarships.

lol.

[tammywammy]

86. You have to accept admission by 1 May.

Even if previously offered admission by another school they're probably SOL for next fall admission.

[aikoaiko]

91. It was a joke because Princeton caters to the Wall Street crowd of a-holes.

[Initech]

96. Idiots. They broke the first rule of the internet.

Don't post anything that could come back to bite you in the ass.