# Harvard to plagiarizing valedictorian: Buh Bye **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783 "2003-07-11T19:29:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/1 "2003-07-11T19:29:52Z")
Your [karmic](http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/6282505.htm) update. > [@](#): > > CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A New Jersey student who sued successfully to be the sole valedictorian of her high school has been disinvited from attending Harvard University for plagiarism, according to a published report. > > Citing an unnamed source involved with the decision, The Harvard Crimson reported for today’s edition that the Ivy League school decided not to welcome Blair Hornstine into its class of 2007. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/2 "2003-07-11T19:36:21Z")
:eek: Note to self: “Don’t laugh, it would be mean… Don’t laugh, it would be mean… Very mean.” \ ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/3 "2003-07-11T19:40:53Z")
Word. Good luck getting enrolled at ANY college in time for the fall semester. And don’t try and bring any of this “schadenfreude” stuff in here. She brought it on herself. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/4 "2003-07-11T19:42:06Z")
Hmm. Who is she going to sue over this one? ---
**Author:** ![carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/5 "2003-07-11T19:45:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\*Hmm. Who is she going to sue over this one? \*\* Everybody. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Composer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Composer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Composer)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/6 "2003-07-11T19:57:41Z")
Heh. Payback is hell, bitch. And besides, after all that uproar she skips her graduation ceremony? Give me a break. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/7 "2003-07-11T20:02:00Z")
Note to self: Bwaaahahahahahahahahahahaha! There _ **is** _ justice in this world. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/8 "2003-07-11T20:04:29Z")
Now will someone _please_ come in here and do a Nelson Muntz on this thread? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/9 "2003-07-11T20:05:41Z")
I would laugh at her, but I know that if I do, her father will find someway to sue me. I am now a firm believer in karma. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/10 "2003-07-11T20:06:26Z")
As requested: _Ha_-ha! ---
**Author:** ![Qazzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@Qazzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qazzz)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/11 "2003-07-11T20:15:55Z")
That is SOOOO AWESOME! Dumb girl. What a dumbass she’s made of herself. Hahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/12 "2003-07-11T20:23:40Z")
Hiring lawyer to sue for Valedictorian: $5000.00 4 Year education at Harvard: $200,000.00 Getting an education in the ways of the real world: Priceless. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/13 "2003-07-11T20:31:33Z")
WOO HOO! ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/14 "2003-07-11T20:31:49Z")
Man, I am gloating over this, and I have this little fantasy that she ends up in one of my classes in the state university I attend, and we non-valdictorians academically acheive her into the dirt, but… It sounds like she was raised in some goal-oriented cult rather than an actual family. I can’t completely blame any eighteen-year-old for not yet having grown the cojones to buck her control-freak parents. It seem as if her parents have completely mucked up her life, her view of the world, and her view of herself, and now, sadly, it’s up to her to fix those things. I wish her the best in the long run. I’m really happy about Hah-vahd falling through in the here-and-now. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/15 "2003-07-11T20:44:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sugaree \* > \*\*It sounds like she was raised in some goal-oriented cult rather than an actual family. I can’t completely blame any eighteen-year-old for not yet having grown the cojones to buck her control-freak parents. It seem as if her parents have completely mucked up her life, her view of the world, and her view of herself, and now, sadly, it’s up to her to fix those things. \*\* This is why I’m trying so hard not to laugh at her misfortune. _giggle_ The kid sounds like she was ruthlessly groomed to be an overachiever at any cost. This dose of reality has gotta sting! Ouch! So, I’m not gonna laugh 'cause it would be me-hee-hee-an. Yes, it’s great poetic justice. But I shan’t laugh at her well-deserved misfortune. _snicker_ ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/16 "2003-07-11T20:53:59Z")
Looks like summer school in the real world is tougher than any home-school curriculum… Karma? I already knew about karma. This is more like _Destiny_… ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/17 "2003-07-11T21:03:56Z")
From [The Crimson:](http://www.thecrimson.com/today/article348498.html) > [@](#): > > According to Director of Undergraduate Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis ’70-’73, who declined comment on Hornstine’s case, Harvard admission is contingent on five conditions enumerated for students upon their acceptance—including one which stipulates admission will be revoked “if you engage in behavior that brings into question your honesty, maturity, or moral character.” Heck, I think the lawsuit alone brings into question her maturity and moral character. The plagerizing just made it a slam dunk. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/18 "2003-07-11T21:09:04Z")
Oh dear gawd, her lawyer is playing the “victim” card. > [@](#): > > Kudatzky said…“I am confident that, at the end of the day, Harvard will see that this is a non-issue, and, quite frankly, something that is another example of Blair being singled out and victimized,” ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/19 "2003-07-11T21:10:22Z")
OK wait a second, poor put-upon sick little girl 😉 fights to not share valetictorial honors with some plebian that took phys ed. With the help of Daddy the Judge… and 2 lawyers. whatever. Then she gets the honor of writing several articles in a REAL newspaper. And gets caught plagiarizing. From the link in the OP… > [@](#): > > The writings appeared to borrow themes, structures and, in several cases, **lengthy verbatim passages from sources ranging from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and presidential proclamation to foreign affairs analysis**. (emphasis added) And Daddy the Judge didn’t notice this??? Did he not have enough concern to even pay attention to what she was doing? And please don’t tell me that an 18 year old can write on the same level as a Supreme Court Justice. If Daddy had bothered to read it, he would have noticed. Great way to raise your kids there, chief. But it’s the part about her not showing up at her graduation that gets me. She wasn’t interested in being honored by her school - she was only interested in another line on her resume. Tsk tsk tsk, I say. Oh for shame. ---
**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783/20 "2003-07-11T22:15:11Z")
I for one am all too pleased to see her NATIONALLY humiliated! I hope that the school finds evidence that she plagiarised in one or more of her classes, thus requiring the school to changes grades to F’s as appropriate, which means she wouldn’t have had any claim to be valedictorian, and would also thoroughly destroy any case she may have had in her $2.7 million lawsuit against the school. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harvard-to-plagiarizing-valedictorian-buh-bye/187783.md?page=2)