# 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:** 4
**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 14, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/61 "2003-05-14T04:42:04Z")
Any of y’all considered that just maybe she has a valid point and that this was the way to get Justice? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/62 "2003-05-14T05:33:06Z")
If I were at that school, I’d boycott going to graduation just to avoid giving any personal recognition or credance to her hijacking the Valedictorian title ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/63 "2003-05-14T08:26:09Z")
One has to wonder, who is more behind this, her, or the parents? I think that maybe she was a little mad that she wasn’t the sole valedictorian, and then from there mommy and daddy took over. Not that she’s not acting in a stupid, childish, selfless way. I wish I could go to the graduation for the sheer purpoe of booing her…come to think of it, I’m probably not doing anything that weekend, who’s up for a road trip? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/64 "2003-05-14T12:21:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Any of y’all considered that just maybe she has a valid point and that this was the way to get Justice? \*\* Actually, I did consider it. When you hear outrage stories like this it’s usually the case that the facts of the matter are more balanced than the initial reports suggested. But the more I hear about this one and think about it, the more I’m convinced it was a travesty. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/65 "2003-05-14T12:30:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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…** And, how do you know this for a fact??? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/66 "2003-05-14T17:30:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Any of y’all considered that just maybe she has a valid point and that this was the way to get Justice? \*\* Ok, let’s consider it. What’s her point? That her grade point average is better than Mr. Mirkin’s by a few hundredths of a point, and that therefore she deserves the sole honor of being valedictorian rather than be forced to share that honor with Mr. Mirkin. What’s the school’s point? That because of the way she took classes, she had certain advantages that Mr. Mirkin did not have, and that therefore the few hundredths of a point difference in their GPAs cannot objectively be attributed solely and with certainty to her being “smarter”, or a better student, or whatever. Therefore, it’s reasonably fair for the two to simply share the honor of being valedictorian. My conclusion: She does not have a valid point, the school has a much more valid point. Going beyond that: If it were true that she honestly felt wronged and wanted justice, how does she justify suing for half a million dollars in compensatory damages and two million in punitive? The compensatory damages means that she believes that the difference between sharing the honor of being named _high school_ valedictorian and having that honor to herself alone is worth a half a million dollars in her future earning power. Does anyone believe that, if she ends up having to share the honor, her performance in higher education will suffer? Or that an employer will look at her record and say, “She was only the co-valedictorian in high school, so we’ll offer her $10,000 a year less than we’d offer her if she had been sole valedictorian”? Someone please show me the harm that will be done to her by having to share the honor. As for the punitive damages, that would indicate that she believes the school was negligent or willfully malicious in denying her the sole honor, and so the school needs to be punished for their wanton disregard for justice. The school should be punished?!? The school clearly has a sense of fair play that both Ms. Hornstine and that idiot judge who handed down the verdict completely lack. So no, she absolutely does not have a valid point, she’s a spoiled little two-year old who has no sense of justice or fairness whatsoever, and who’s already well on the road to doing what lawyers do best. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/67 "2003-05-14T22:18:25Z")
What roadfood said. I would love to fast forward her life to see who hires her. She’s just what every company wants, a sickly employee who loves to sue. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jimmy1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/68 "2003-05-14T23:55:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Ok, let’s consider it. What’s her point? That her grade point average is better than Mr. Mirkin’s by a few hundredths of a point, and that therefore she deserves the sole honor of being valedictorian rather than be forced to share that honor with Mr. Mirkin. What’s the school’s point? That because of the way she took classes, she had certain advantages that Mr. Mirkin did not have, and that therefore the few hundredths of a point difference in their GPAs cannot objectively be attributed solely and with certainty to her being “smarter”, or a better student, or whatever. Therefore, it’s reasonably fair for the two to simply share the honor of being valedictorian. **Roadfood** I get what you are saying here but I thought the school had changed the rules towards the end of the game thereby denying her the award of sole valedictorian. The Judge seemed to base some of her ruling on the fact the school did change the rules and applied them retroactively to the situation. They evidently changed the rules and then applied them to the situation as to result in denying this young lady the sole award of valedictorian. When the school changed the rules, applied them retroactively to result in denying this lady from being sole valedictorian, then the school was wrong. All this girl seems to be saying is they must play by the rules they set for the school year and not change them towards the end of the game to deny an individual an award they are deserving of by playing by, fulfilling, and complying with the old rules. In this sense she has been harmed. Hence, she has a point. ---
**Author:** ![Philly\_Style](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/977dab/32.png) [@Philly\_Style](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philly_Style)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/69 "2003-05-15T00:42:22Z")
We no longer feel that we should have to accept anything that we don’t want. Having her mother grade her work is a farce. At this point it is probably to late to have someone else evaluate the work. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/70 "2003-05-15T03:51:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philly Style \* > \*\*We no longer feel that we should have to accept anything that we don’t want. Having her mother grade her work is a farce. At this point it is probably to late to have someone else evaluate the work. \*\* But we still don’t know if Mommy really did grade her work? Anyone with a cite? Regardless, her position is needlessly litigious and nasty in the extreme. There is nothing she could do with the “sole” valedictorian honor that she could not do with the “co” honor. She’s already into Harvard. What more does she want? Does she really think any reputable post-Harvard job will look to her high school transcript (rather than to her qualifications and college grades)? Wouldn’t it be a strange employer that hired full time people based on high school standing (or, for that matter, status as Homecoming Queen)? Why is she burdening the courts with her bogus damages suit? ---
**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 15, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/71 "2003-05-15T07:31:53Z")
Even if her mother did grade her work, we still don’t know if her mother did so dishonestly. ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/72 "2003-05-15T07:53:12Z")
Why couldn’t they just calculate the grade point averages without using the classes that she was able to get out of but everyone else was required to take? That would seem to be a better solution than her robbing the school of upwards of 2.5 million dollars. And isn’t it the tax payers that really end up handing her the 2.5 million if she wins? The world is truly a worse place for her presence. But she’ll likely make a great lawyer. ---
**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 15, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/73 "2003-05-15T08:16:01Z")
Nightime: Are you equating “able to get out of” with “robbing the school” and “disability”? ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/74 "2003-05-15T09:40:14Z")
Huh? “Able to get out of” means exactly what it says. To be fair, they should calculate the other student’s GPA without using the classes that were required for them, but not for the girl. How are you suggesting “able to get out of” equates with “robbing the school”? I didn’t say “2.5 million is all she thought she would be “able to get out of” the school.” Although that is probably true. You have to be careful stealing money from institutions like schools, which serve a noble purpose and are funded by taxpayers. Steal too much and people may realize what an abominable person you are. I think 2.5 million is a nice tidy sum to try and steal. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/75 "2003-05-15T12:41:03Z")
It would interest me to think what the boards attitude would be if Merkin had sued first… IMO, The school is right. Not to take away from her achievement, but co-valedictorian was the right decision. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/76 "2003-05-15T14:01:35Z")
When is the actual ceremony? I can’t wait to see if she gets egged! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/77 "2003-05-15T14:51:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Roadfood I get what you are saying here but I thought the school had changed the rules towards the end of the game thereby denying her the award of sole valedictorian. So? She _never_ played by the same rules as anyone else. > [@](#): > > The Judge seemed to base some of her ruling on the fact the school did change the rules and applied them retroactively to the situation. They evidently changed the rules and then applied them to the situation as to result in denying this young lady the sole award of valedictorian. When the school changed the rules, applied them retroactively to result in denying this lady from being sole valedictorian, then the school was wrong. First of all, as a point of law, I don’t see what jurisdiction the judge has. Second, school rules are not required to be fair. Third, they were already screwed up when applied to the situation. Fourth, the school offered a fair compromise. Fifth, she did not earn in any way the honor of being named sole valedictorian. > [@](#): > > All this girl seems to be saying is they must play by the rules they set for the school year and not change them towards the end of the game to deny an individual an award they are deserving of by playing by, fulfilling, and complying with the old rules. In this sense she has been harmed. Hence, she has a point. Why? There’s no law that says when and how a school must change its rules. Moreover, she didn’t deserve crap. She wasn’t playing by the rules anyway, and wasn’t even properly a part of the school. In terms of harm, she was already valedictorian, and was not nurt by there being another nor helped by being named sole valedictorian. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/78 "2003-05-15T15:44:35Z")
I have to ask-will Merkin then be saluditorian? ---
**Author:** ![jeevmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jeevmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevmon)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/79 "2003-05-15T15:56:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Any of y’all considered that just maybe she has a valid point and that this was the way to get Justice? \*\* Can’t speak for everyone, but what galls me is that she’s wasting a lot of people’s time and money to get something that has no real value. No one cares after graduation who was valedictorian, and no one except the valedictorian and their family cares during graduation. She got into Harvard without being valedictorian, so clearly her college admissions are completely unaffected by whether or not she she is valedictorian. It’s even more ridiculous here because her complaint is that she has to _share_ a meaningless title. How much more shallow and status-grubbing could she be? One would hope that these kinds of lawsuits would end the whole system of class ranking and naming valedictorians. But since there are a number of parents that would pull their kids out of any school that didn’t issue class ranks and stupid titles, I’m probably being too optimistic. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448/80 "2003-05-15T16:38:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jeevmon \* > \*\*One would hope that these kinds of lawsuits would end the whole system of class ranking and naming valedictorians. But since there are a number of parents that would pull their kids out of any school that didn’t issue class ranks and stupid titles, I’m probably being too optimistic. \*\* Hear, hear. It’s about time, IMHO, that schools in the US started putting less emphasis on “grade-point average.” If two students are taking two different classes taught by two different teachers, and Student 1 gets an A and Student 2 a B, it does _not_ necessarily follow that Student 1 achieved more than Student 2. Differences in class difficulty, the teachers’ marking style, even the “lower grades” if the students are graded on a curve–all those affect the final grade, and have little to do with ability or achievement. Factor into that the fact that the difference between valedictorian and salutorian can usually be measured in the hundredths or thousandths of GPA, and it’s a situation ripe for potential problems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiny-bitch-sues-for-and-wins-valedictorian-title/174448.md?page=5)