<p>[3</a> Palos Verdes High students arrested in grade-tampering plot - The Daily Breeze](<a href=“http://www.dailybreeze.com/education/ci_19829634]3”>http://www.dailybreeze.com/education/ci_19829634)</p>
<p>So sad that these kids felt so much academic pressure that they broke the law over it.</p>
<p>what? they were under so much pressure? you’ve got to be kidding.
It’s okay to steal, lie, cheat because of the pressure? maybe they should study.</p>
<p>Who said it was okay?</p>
<p>Okay, I hate to be controversial or sexist, but is there anybody who thinks the kids who broke in were female? I think sometime boys do this sort of stuff just to prove they can, and don’t think about the moral implications or consequences.</p>
<p>Of course I could always be wrong.</p>
<p>I grew up near this high school. It’s in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Los Angeles, on a peninsula overlooking the Pacific. These would be very privileged kids. What does that mean? IMHO, they knew exactly what they were doing and I hope they get the book thrown at them. They were selling the teachers’ tests, for pete’s sake. it’s not like they were just trying to get themselves into Stanford.</p>
<p>What’s up with all these previleged kids? Weren’t the kids at North Great Neck scandal also previleged? On the west coast the previlegd break in, on the east they pay someone to do it for them.</p>
<p>“Okay, I hate to be controversial or sexist, but is there anybody who thinks the kids who broke in were female? I think sometime boys do this sort of stuff just to prove they can, and don’t think about the moral implications or consequences.”</p>
<p>I hope you are not implying “boys will be boys”. No excuse for this behavior, male or female.</p>
<p>Well, there was the case a couple years ago of 5 or 6 New York State kids who hacked their school’s computers to change grades, cheated on tests and attempted to break into the school to physically change student records. They were caught after already being admitted to some of the top colleges in the country. This happened in Fayetteville, the most privileged community in the Syracuse area.</p>
<p>hudsonvalley, that hs is in our area. I was just thinking that the stories are almost identical - affluent area, high-performing school, smart kids (well, apparently not always), break-ins, computer tampering, exam thefts. The cheating went on for a couple of years. Two guys who were college freshmen when the cheating was discovered were expelled from college (one was in one of the most selective engineering programs in the country); the guys who were still in hs were permanently suspended; all faced criminal charges. </p>
<p>This happened in October of 2007, so I don’t know that any of the seniors had been accepted to college yet. I do know that some of them were on track to be strongly considered at very top schools. Instead, several wound up at the local CC after performing community service. One guy left the country.</p>
<p>Why does this happen? Here, I think there was almost a gang mentality - smart, disaffected, flawed guys showing off for each other, bonding over dumb stuff. Our hs lacked reasonable security measures and made it easy for them. Interestingly, though it’s a fairly affluent community (in CNY; i.e., not really), only 3 or 4 of the 8 guys involved came from truly affluent families. Several guys were at the other end of the economic spectrum. </p>
<p>I worked in the building where they were arraigned. I ran into one of the dads in the hallway and he asked for directions to the courtroom. He was weeping. I’ve never forgotten that.</p>
<p>
What is with you people? First Bay, now me. Did you read my post? I said they acted without regard for the moral implications, I didn’t excuse it, and I have no idea where you get that from.</p>
<p>My point was merely about their motivation - whether it was really for money, or better grades, or for the thrill of it. If I questioned whether someone stole a car and went joy riding just for the thrill of it, that in no way implies I think it’s okay and the attitude of moral superiority is a little annoying.</p>
<p>"…that in no way implies I think it’s okay and the attitude of moral superiority is a little annoying."</p>
<p>Well, then we are saying the same thing aren’t we? Except for the “attitude of moral superiority”.</p>
<p>
Yes, except I didn’t impute some sort of “boys will be boys” attitude to you out of whole cloth.</p>
<p>I said I hope you are not implying it.</p>
<p>
Glad I didn’t dash your hopes.</p>
<p>I hope you’ll excuse me for exiting this fatuous dialog.</p>
<p>What an ego.</p>
<p>“I hope you’ll excuse me for exiting this fatuous dialog.”</p>
<p>Did someone mention an attitude of “superiority”?</p>
<p>Perhaps we as parents, or as adults in society, should make the life-changing penalties for this sort of law breaking clear. Our elders tipped outhouses and didn’t get caught. This sort of thing is on another level entirely, and kids should understand that.</p>