OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 9:56 AM PT — Friday, March 15, 2019
As several students nationwide remain outraged over the college admissions bribery scam, two Stanford University students take action — class action that is.
On Wednesday, Erica Olsen and Kalea Woods filed a federal lawsuit seeking class action status against dozens of universities named in the scandal. Just one day after filing, however, Olsen has withdrew from the lawsuit.
Originally the two students were alleging negligence, unfair competition, and violations of consumer law. In the suit they claimed their admissions process was warped and rigged by fraud, saying they and others were denied a fair shot at admission. It also claimed their future Stanford degrees are devalued as a result of the scam.
Meanwhile, other students on campus have said they don’t share that same feeling.
“This happens to schools everywhere, there are a number of schools across the country implicated in this same kind of scandal, so I don’t feel as if relative to other universities it lowers the value of the degree,” stated Maurice Goodman, Stanford University student.
People walk near Memorial Church on the Stanford University campus Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
The class action suit argues all individuals who applied to the named schools between 2012 and 2018, and were rejected, deserve restitution because their spots were given to less deserving candidates. It argues that applicants who played by the rules were victimized when these wealthy parents paid bribes enabling unqualified students to get into highly selective universities.
Legal experts say the student could have difficulty holding the colleges responsible. The remaining plaintiff is seeking a refund of application fees to universities as well as unspecified punitive damages.
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