Operation Varsity Blues Ethical Opportunities

A few months ago, US News reported on the academic admissions scandal, Operation Varsity Blues:

“The case — the largest college admission scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice — exposes a long-running racketeering scheme dating back to 2011, in which parents paid an admissions consultant a combined $25 million to help students cheat on college entrance exams and to get them into elite colleges and universities as recruited athletes when in reality they were not athletes.”

This was a profoundly disappointing situation that displays the worst of our human failure on many levels. In addition to its magnitude, this particular scam especially grabbed my attention due to its higher-education context. It occurs within the confluence of many deeply significant factors:

Mentoring developing young adults.
Student life transitions including high school to college, and college to the professional world.
Parental ethics and leadership.
Student accountability and fairness.
Respect for the processes and institutions of higher education.
The responsibilities that are intrinsic to power and privilege.
Personal character and integrity.
Student character and integrity.
Parental character and integrity.
Professional character and integrity.
Societal and academic implications.