Given the media attention, most everyone has probably heard about the college admissions scandal that was revealed  last month. In it, 50 people, including 33 parents, were charged with a variety of crimes, including mail fraud and money laundering. They had been paying a consultant, William Singer, to guarantee their children’s’ admission into prestigious universities. The students were arranged to cheat on standardized tests or lie about their athletic involvement and abilities.

Long story short: these parents paid adults to take their children’s ACT or SAT exams, or they paid bribes that led to college coaches giving roster spots to students who, in some cases, didn’t even play the sport.

I have big issues with this for multiple reasons. First, it’s aggravating that people with money appear to get whatever they want. They don’t have to earn it.

What I find to be a bigger deal is the methods these parents used to secure what they desired. It seems like just another person using their wealth to take shortcuts, but, when all of these instances are taken as a whole, this system impacts more than the parents charged and the students who were falsely admitted.

I believe these parents are using their money as a weapon. In paying their child’s way into college, they cost another student a shot at a successful life.

There are people who go to high school full time while working two jobs to save for college. There are student athletes who practice for hours each and every day, go to every practice, scrimmage, and game, and spend money on their sport just for a chance at being on the college team. There are kids getting five hours of sleep each night because they’re relentlessly studying for the ACT or SAT.

These students are working hard to earn a spot at their college of choice, while spots disappear because other parents pay for them. If a good college equals a good future, then their opportunities are squandered because another student’s parents had money on their side.

No one should be passed over for opportunities in athletics or education just because they can’t write a behind-closed-doors check.