# Whiny Bitch Sues for and Wins Valedictorian Title **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 11, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448 "2003-05-11T04:20:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sivispacem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@sivispacem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sivispacem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/1 "2003-05-11T04:20:42Z")
Someone needs to hit this girl with a rock. > [@](#): > > U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson ordered the Moorestown school district to name Blair Hornstine the sole valedictorian for the class of 2003. Doesn’t seem so bad at first, but they leave out that by “tutors” they mean “her mom,” who graded all of her AP work - and gave her A+'s across the board. Shocker. > [@](#): > > Hornstine, 18, who completed many of her courses during the past two years with tutors because of an immune deficiency, argued that she should be the only valedictorian at next month’s graduation because she has the highest grades at Moorestown High School. And she allegedly has “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” which is why she couldn’t do gym class - although she’s had no trouble doing the countless hours of community service that helped her get into Harvard. > [@](#): > > The school district argued that the shared honors were fair because it was impossible for the other two students also chosen as valedictorians to match Hornstine’s GPA. As non-disabled students they were required to take classes such as gym that receive less weight in calculating the average. Okay so maybe it’s all legit and her mom was fair and impartial, and she really was incapable of taking PE, what soulless bitch would make the school system pay out and rob the rest of the students of millions in funding? > [@](#): > > The case will move forward to trial on Hornstine’s claim for damages. Her lawsuit seeks $500,000 in compensatory and $2 million in punitive damages, as well as legal fees and costs. ---
**Author:** ![sivispacem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@sivispacem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sivispacem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/2 "2003-05-11T04:22:37Z")
From: [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/05/09/valedictorian.lawsuit.ap/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/3 "2003-05-11T04:43:11Z")
The cite doesn’t explain the grounds for the decision. Was it the ADA? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/4 "2003-05-11T11:19:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sivispacem \* > \*\*Someone needs to hit this girl with a rock. > > Doesn’t seem so bad at first, but they leave out that by “tutors” they mean “her mom,” who graded all of her AP work - and gave her A+'s across the board. Shocker. > > And she allegedly has “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” which is why she couldn’t do gym class - although she’s had no trouble doing the countless hours of community service that helped her get into Harvard. > > Okay so maybe it’s all legit and her mom was fair and impartial, and she really was incapable of taking PE, what soulless bitch would make the school system pay out and rob the rest of the students of millions in funding? \*\* So, by putting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in quotes, are you questioning her diagnosis, or the illness itself? One does not have to stand or do heavy lifting or other types of exertion to do community service. There is reading to the elderly and a host of other things that one can do to provide service. ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/5 "2003-05-11T11:27:28Z")
The valedictorian at my high school beat me out by a few decimal points, because they took less classes their senior year. We had both taken nearly the same schedule for three years, and we both had all A’s, but in the last year I took a full schedule and he took two periods off. That meant his GPA would be slightly higher, because I would have to take a class that didn’t give an extra grade point. So you don’t have to be disabled to pull off something like this, but yeah, it does suck, and they should lose. They should add in a system so that you don’t get rewarded for _not_ taking classes. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/6 "2003-05-11T12:23:08Z")
This is really more an indictment of the “weighted grade” system that gives you more points for some classes as opposed to others. The school’s contention was that, since the two other students called “co-valedictorian” had to take the gym classes, which were weighted low, even with perfect scores they couldn’t pass the plantiff’s marks. Well, whose fault was that, then? Colleges and universities don’t (AFAIK) weight classes, so why should a high school? What burns me about this case was the fact it was taken to court at all. If you’re a “co-valedictorian” and you’re accepted to your choice of Ivy League colleges…what makes having “co-” next to your title such a pain? How many people, even when they go into grad school, put their valedictory status on their applications? And is this worth “$2.5 million” in damages? Not hardly. How kind of her to want to leave her school district with a $2.5 million hole in their budget. ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/7 "2003-05-11T13:44:37Z")
I’d like to slap that effing bitch with a brick. Hard. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/8 "2003-05-11T14:00:39Z")
Since the case hasn’t gone to trial yet, Miss Hornstine has a ways to go before she sees a dime of that money, or if she even gets anything at all. She’s going to have to prove that she was harmed in some way, and since she was already at the top of her class and was admitted to an Ivy League school, it’s going to be hard to prove. This does send a message to Miss Hornstine, and it’s not a good one. What if she can’t handle the rigors of an Ivy League college education because of her disability? Is she going to sue on the basis that she’s entitled to a free (or very cheap) ride? What if she doesn’t get into law school, or doesn’t make it through? Is she going to sue them, too? Or what if she doesn’t make partner at her firm? Life isn’t fair. Suing to get what you want is not a good thing. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/9 "2003-05-11T14:06:09Z")
Life may not be fair; however, that’s not what’s at issue in her case, AFAICT. It seems to me that the school changed the rules on her and decided at the last minute to minimize (in her view) her accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/10 "2003-05-11T14:29:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Life may not be fair; however, that’s not what’s at issue in her case, AFAICT. It seems to me that the school changed the rules on her and decided at the last minute to minimize (in her view) her accomplishment. \*\* I don’t see that at all. What I read from the article was that the school was trying to take everything into consideration and allow both students to share the distinction of valedictorian. What the CNN site didn’t say was that Miss Hornstine’s father is a judge in New Jersey, and that she has accomplished enough in her life to get into Harvard on her own merits. What I see is a girl taking advantage of the legal system and her disability to get what she wants. Nothing more nor less. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/11 "2003-05-11T14:33:36Z")
What bothers me is that she is apparently still proceeding with the lawsuit. She got the school to fold and she _still_ wants to see a nice $2.5 mil out of the deal? Oh, wait, I forgot: > [@](#): > > Hornstine, who said she plans to become a lawyer Sorry about that, it makes perfect sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/12 "2003-05-11T14:35:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*It seems to me that the school changed the rules on her and decided at the last minute to minimize (in her view) her accomplishment. \*\* Being valedictorian is minimized if another student shares the title with you? I can see your point about changing the rules possibly being unfair but if the rules were changed to correct something that was unfair I don’t see the point. Other students shouldn’t get valedictorian status because of a mathematical abberration? One they had no control over? I also do not see where ANY damages are incurred here. How was Ms. Hornstine hurt by any of this? $500,000 in compensatory damages? From what? Cost of her school books? As an aside I thought you could not recover legal fees when suing someone except in very specific circumstances but the OP quoted that this is part fo the damages being sought. Am I missing something on that? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/13 "2003-05-11T14:54:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sivispacem \* > \*\*Doesn’t seem so bad at first, but they leave out that by “tutors” they mean “her mom,” who graded all of her AP work - and gave her A+'s across the board. Shocker. > \*\* This does not seem to be the case. > [@](#): > > Jacobs argued that Hornstine’s academic program was formulated on “the advice and approval” of school adminsitrators, who also had sole discretion in hiring and supervising the instructors who taught Hornstine. > > SOURCE: [Philadelphia Daily News](http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/5811678.htm) The same article does mention that Hornstine was able to take classes not available to students who went to the public school due to conflicting schedule issues at the school that did not affect Hornstine. If she had gone to the school they calculate her GPA would have missed the top spot by .005 points so she would not have been valedictorian. > [@](#): > > “…No MHS student, during the past three years, has been, or would have been able to take the program of studies taken by Plaintiff, unless classified and afforded the same accommodations,” Kadri alleges. > > The result was Hornstine’s stunning GPA of 4.689, highest in the class. Kadri argued that if subjected to the same academic and schedule requirements, her GPA would have actually been 4.629 - some .005 below that of “K.M.” at 4.634. ---
**Author:** ![sivispacem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@sivispacem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sivispacem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/14 "2003-05-11T15:09:09Z")
Regardless of how fair her academic program was, the idea that she’d feel somehow entitled to be the only valedictorian - when she clearly isn’t playing on the same field. There’s a reason they have Special Olympics, if something’s wrong with you and you can’t compete on the same level field as everyone else, you don’t compete against them. If she needed to be exempt from gym class and have special tutors she shouldn’t be in the running for the title, and certainly shouldn’t be the ONLY student to get it. And then that she’s actually suing irks the Christmas cookies out of me. But at least there is some poetic justice, I’ve heard through the old grapevine that the kids at Harvard have gotten full wind of this and are ready to roast the bitch on a spit - she should have a relatively miserable few years. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/15 "2003-05-11T15:57:12Z")
Great! I hope she has the most miserable college existence ever! I also hope we get to hear about it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/16 "2003-05-11T16:12:42Z")
FWIW I have no idea how ‘fair’ her academic program was but I agree wholeheartedly with **sivispacem**. Whatever university she ends up at I hope she gets an earful from the students there for the next four years. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/17 "2003-05-11T16:24:36Z")
I wonder how this will affect her down the line. If the title means so much to her she has to get a court involved, I’m sure she’ll slap “valedictorian” on everything from her resume to her box of Cheerios in her dorm room, but I wonder if she’ll be honest enough to tell people how she got it. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/18 "2003-05-11T16:38:09Z")
Maybe it’s just because I live in a city where there are lots of high schools under a single jurisdiction - but I don’t quite understand why someone who has essentailly been home schooled for the last two years would be eligible to be the valedictorian of a school that the student didn’t attend. ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/19 "2003-05-11T16:51:34Z")
We have an athlete on our basketball team that dropped 4 or 5 spots because she is scheduled into the athletic period. She had the second highest gpa midway through her sophomore year. Considering the amount of time she devotes to our program it is sad that her gpa suffers. She is a team-first style of player, a role-player, not a great athlete. She works at full-potential 100% of the time. We are very fortunate to have her on the squad. I am bothered that this kind of commitment and devotion works against her. Seems unfair. Oddly, we were just discussing this with her on Friday. She is not bothered by this and seems eager to continue helping us reach program goals. Her two older sisters were both valedictorians. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/20 "2003-05-11T17:20:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by doreen \* > \*\*Maybe it’s just because I live in a city where there are lots of high schools under a single jurisdiction - but I don’t quite understand why someone who has essentailly been home schooled for the last two years would be eligible to be the valedictorian of a school that the student didn’t attend. \*\* I was wondering that myself. It would seem that a student who took the majority of her instruction at home should be classified as “homeschooled” and not as a student at the local high school. I just have to wonder if there’s more that we don’t know yet. Robin [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448.md?page=2)