Walton heiress Elizabeth Paige Laurie has been stripped of has voluntarily given back her diploma from USC, after it was found she paid her roommate, Elena Martinez, to do most of the coursework.
Just a couple of thoughts:
- If one were not heir to a gazillion dollars, would one be given the opportunity to "give back" the fraudulent diploma, or would one be unceremoniously dumped via a terse note from the registrar’s office, and possibly threatened with legal action?
- I would be interested to know if ex-roommate Elena Martinez has given back any of the $20,000 she was paid to do something she knew was wrong in the first place. She seems equally content to have A) taken the money and B) sung like a canary on 20/20, presumably for more money. It seems like Ms. Laurie would be due a refund.
Of course, Miss Heiress Thang got what she deserved, but – hey, a deal’s a deal.
Both girls should return their diplomas.
What pha said.
Plus, if they don’t, they should be forcibly stripped of them.
Why does a Multi Billion Dollar heiress need a college diploma anyway? It’s not like she needs it to get a better job, or any job. What was she studying anyway? She will probably follow in the family business, I hope. We don’t need another Paris Hilton. One is too much already.
“If one were not heir to a gazillion dollars, would one be given the opportunity to “give back” the fraudulent diploma, or would one be unceremoniously dumped via a terse note from the registrar’s office, and possibly threatened with legal action?”
At my alma mater, the University of Virginia, if they’d caught her before she took her degree, she’d have been tossed out on her ear, without the option of ever returning. But if it didn’t come out until after she’d gotten the degree, she’d probably get away with it, because the Honor Committee (which investigates all suspected incidents of cheating) has no jurisdiction over a non-student.
Unfortunately, money talks loudly in a lot of universities, including my alma mater the University of Michigan. When two undergrad women were caught plagiarizing (ironically on the topic of copyright)in ’91, they merely failed the assignment. I was an assistant to a Communications profesor at the time, so I also heard about failing athletes whose grades “mysteriously” changed in the computerized system (unbeknownst to the profesors) and fraternities who kept file cabinets of term papers for several decades of “reference” for future members.