1. The Lawsuit: I had no problem with Hornstine suing to protect what she had earned -- the right to be named sole valedictorian, as provided by her student handbook. It's not like she was suing to be awarded something which she had been denied because of her disability, but, instead, she was trying to retain that to which she had already been entitled.
But why have one valedictorian in the first place? When I was in high school, we had one valedictorian from a class of 600, and it was nuts. Lots of us tried every angle we could to raise our averages -- some had their Science Fair work counted as an independent study, AP-level class; I had my co-teaching of a 10th grade Telecommunications class so credited, etc.
We all ended up within decimal points of each other. We all ended up at good schools -- our year, it was MIT, Brown, Amherst, Wash U and Penn for the top kids. And none of it was worth the resentment, bitterness or competition.
Similarly, look at Hornstine's Moorestown High, where the top members of the class of 2001 ended up matriculating at six of the eight Ivies, the University of Chicago, Stanford, Duke, BYU, NYU, Northwestern, Bryn Mawr, Notre Dame, Wesleyan, Haverford and, yes, Bucknell. None of them need to be valedictorian -- they're all going to end up well. Just take the top 10-20 students, honor them all, and select the best speaker from among them for graduation. Life's too short for this bullshit.
2. Oh, but the plagiarism. It's real bad.
First off, from Moorestown's Code of Student Conduct and Consequences:
Plagiarism, the failure to acknowledge the ideas of someone else, and submitting work that is not your own is considered cheating. It will not be tolerated in any school work. In a course requirement (i.e., junior English research paper), cheating will result in a failure for that course and may forfeit your right to enroll in the same course in summer school.
So, make no mistake of it -- Hornstine knew it was wrong. And how bad was it? Let's review.
Blair Hornstine, 11/26/02:
At Thanksgiving this year, Americans must carry on that tradition of sharing not only with family and friends but also with those in need throughout their communities.
Every generation of Americans has benefited from the generosity, talents, efforts and contributions of their fellow citizens. All of us have been enriched by the diverse cultures, traditions and beliefs of the millions of people who, by birth or by choice, have come to call America their home. All of us are beneficiaries of our founders' wisdom and of the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. While Americans are an independent people, we are interdependent as well, and our greatest achievements are those we have accomplished together.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remember with gratitude that, despite our differences, each of us is a member of a larger American family and that, working together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
This Thanksgiving, I encourage all of you to assemble in your communities and places of worship to share the spirit of goodwill and prayer; to express heartfelt gratitude for the blessings of life; and to reach out in friendship to our brothers and sisters in our larger family - humankind.
Bill Clinton, 11/23/00:
At Thanksgiving this year and every year, in worship services and family celebrations across our country, Americans carry on that tradition of giving, sharing not only with family and friends, but also with those in need throughout their communities.
Every generation of Americans has benefited from the generosity, talents, efforts, and contributions of their fellow citizens. All of us have been enriched by the diverse cultures, traditions, and beliefs of the millions of people who, by birth or choice, have come to call America their home. All of us are beneficiaries of our founders' wisdom and of the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. While Americans are an independent people, we are interdependent as well, and our greatest achievements are those we have accomplished together.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remember with gratitude that despite our differences in background, age, politics, or race, each of us is a member of our larger American family and that, working together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish in this promising new century.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, [blah blah blah -- she didn't steal here] encourage all the people of the United States to assemble in their homes, places of worship, and community centers to share the spirit of fellowship and prayer and to reinforce the ties of family and community; to express heartfelt thanks to God for our many blessings; and to reach out in gratitude and friendship to our brothers and sisters across this land who, together, comprise our great American family.
Hornstine did not, as her apology claimed, "cut and pasted my ideas together" -- she cut and pasted Bill Clinton's (speechwriter's) ideas, and this is not, as her attorney baldly asserted, "a whole lot of nothing."
[He's also mobster Joey Merlino's attorney, but that's a side issue.]
Instead, it's plagiarism, and it's serious, and there ought to be consequences. If I were Hornstine, I'd step down as valedictorian, because it's the only way her classmates will ever respect her at this point. Step down, save face, show some class, and quietly go to Harvard in the fall. There's no reason for her to insist on the award at this point, when she no longer deserves it, and her mantle is already full enough.
And once she gets to Harvard, she'd be well-advised to seek out one of those lovable, irascible homeless guys around campus, spend some time with him, and from his guidance learn the true meaning of graduating with honors. It's the only way.
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