What's this op-ed missing?

I decided to post this in the journalism topics -- though I know how discussion it could in theory generate -- because this appears in the Wall Street Journal and, I don't know, it's missing something. Something that I'm a little surprised the WSJ would allow not to be in the op-ed. It's previous obvious what's missing -- it's hinted at in the accompanying video, but never fully explained -- which, to me, seems a bit central to the matter at hand.

http://online.wSportsJournalists.com/article/SB10001424127887324000704578390340064578654.html

Which, naturally, makes me wonder:

How did the WSJ get this?
Why did the WSJ get this? Did someone else have it first?
What, if any, is the buried purpose behind running it?

 

Why is this gal entitled to be accepted by the Ivy League? And it's cynical of the WSJ to unearth the long-ago-on-the-backburner issue of affirmative action on the back of kinda spoiled-sounding teen. And she sure seems borderline racist to me.

I know this isn't your answer, but this piece is missing the quality of writing you would think the WSJ would insist on.

 

This comment gets at the heart of the matter. You'd presume Ms. Weiss applied to Ivy League schools. But she never writes that. She never writes where she applied, where she was accepted and where she was rejected. Now, she can write whatever she pleases and feel however she pleases -- but if I'm the Wall Street Journal, that information is in the op-ed. Even in the video, all the girl says is "name-brand schools." We can presume that's the Ivy League, but when the girl goes on to say she's been accepted to several schools in the Big Ten -- many of which are "name-brand schools" to almost anyone, you wonder how the WSJ managed not to wring an ounce of detail out of the kid, or, if they did, managed to edit it out? (Why you'd do that, I don't know).

Further, the girl says, in the video, she had "all the prerequisites" to get into the schools that rejected her. OK. Prove it. And write it in the op-ed.

Absent those items, how can I possibly gauge the merit of her argument, especially given some of the rotten shots she takes at kids who " go to Africa, scoop up some suffering child, take a few pictures, and write essays about how spending that afternoon with Kinto changed my life."

The girl is a teenager, and all that goes with it. So she might take a few shots. But the WSJ should have the basic fact-checking standards of any news organization. Name the schools. Name the credentials. Any garden-variety news story would.

Which is why I question the paper's integrity in running this. Ms. Weiss is clearly taking shots at a service-oriented, achievement-focused, diverse student that colleges want. She's running down academia. The WSJ may not mind finding a cipher to do that for them in a way that draws 1,000 comments, huh?

 

exactly. the girl is a teenager ranting because she didn't into the school she wanted to and wants to blame it on somebody else. it's forgivable, she's a teenager. that the wall street journal felt the need to print the rant without any factual details of her merits and where she applied makes it seem like all you need for your rant to be justified and newsworthy is an inferiority complex.

 

This has to be some power broker's daughter who wrote this. It's as bad as the kid who used to make his picks on ESPN NFL Countdown.

She is also going to have a guest spot on Fox News very soon.

 

The Wall Street Journal is race-baiting its overwhelmingly upper class white readership, and it exploited a teenager to do so. What's the discussion here?

 

Reminds me of that woman in Texas at the heart of the affirmative action case being decided by the Supreme Court.

 

If it ain't the Asians working too hard, it's the Hispanics not working hard enough. Why can't everyone be like Goldilocks and work just the right amount?

 

I still do not understand the passion to go to an Ivy League School. It just seems something soccer moms and high school students get all worked up about, but in the real world, once you have been on the job for a time and can show what you can and cannot do, the degree is pushed more and more into the distance and what you have done in your career is what stands out.

The guy interviewed below is a good friend of my family. My father taught him how to shoot a gun, and I would go to his parent's home almost every Thanksgiving when I was young.

He began his academic career playing basketball at the community college level, then went on to Geneva for college - Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA. He earned his master's from Robert Morris.

http://www.forbes.com/2005/05/09/cx_pp_0509hoganchatceonetwork.html

Here is resume...

http://www02.abb.com/global/abbzh/abbzh252.nsf/0/3b79738ad2670989c12574a9002b8e68/$file/CV+Joseph+M+Hogan.pdf

Here is a good friend of mine who went to Michigan...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/idUS92115+30-Jan-2012+BW20120130

He's about 42. If only his education didn't hold him back...

 

And this piece is pandering to all the families who are becoming frustrated because this is the time of year when students lives are ruined because they are not making it into Ivy Schools.

 

Most folks assume that being launched from an Ivy League platform will put you into a higher career orbit. Or at least plug you into a more privileged and elaborate professional and social network. There's also the aspirational part of it; and the personal affirmation certain folks derive from being one of that 6 or 7%.

It can also be a fantastic education.