Stanford expels student admitted with fake sailing credentials in latest fallout from Operation Varsity Blues

Paulina Cachero

The fallout of the infamous college admissions bribery scandal, also known as Operation Varsity Blues, continues this week with a new revelation: Stanford University has rescinded the admission of a young woman who allegedly included fake sailing credentials on her application, the school announced on Apr. 2.

“We determined that some of the material in the student’s application is false and, in accordance with our policies, have rescinded admission,” reads a statement on the Stanford University website. The student, who has not been identified, is no longer on Stanford’s campus and has had all credits earned at the university revoked, the statement adds.

Although the student was not recruited as an athlete and went through the standard admissions process, her acceptance to Stanford was soon followed by a $500,000 donation from a foundation run by the admissions-scandal mastermind William “Rick” Singer, according to the Stanford Daily. That monetary gift allegedly prompted former sailing head coach John Vandemoer to add the false credentials to the former student’s application. Vandemoer, 41, accepted a total of $770,000 for the sailing program in the form of three separate gifts, reads a statement on Stanford’s website.

Vandemoer, who was in his 11th season as Stanford’s head sailing coach, was one of 50 people — a mix of college administrators and affluent parents — indicted in Operation Varsity Blues. He was fired before pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges on Mar. 13, for accepting contributions in exchange for fabricating athletic recommendations for applicants, regardless of their athletic ability. (Although Vandemoer made recommendations for two prospective students, neither were admitted or enrolled after failing to complete the application process.)

Stanford’s president, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, called Vandemoer actions “nothing short of appalling” in a statement.

“The Justice Department investigation provided no evidence or indication that the conduct involved anyone at Stanford beyond the head sailing coach, including anyone associated with any other Stanford team. However, we are undertaking an internal process to confirm this is the case, across all of Stanford Athletics.,” noted the statement, adding that the university would not benefit from the monies related to the fraudulent activity, and planned to redirect the funds to an unaffiliated entity.

However, one Stanford Ph.D. graduate believes this incident is just the “tip of the iceberg.”

“Coming from a public school, specifically the UCs, and just seeing the difference between the level of affluence at Stanford versus the public schools, none of this is shocking to me. But I think it’s probably endemic of something bigger which is just massive amounts of inequality,” the student, who wished to remain anonymous, told KQED.

On Mar. 12, federal prosecutors revealed the college admissions scheme of the rich and privileged bribing their children into America’s elite colleges, including Stanford, USC, Yale, UCLA, Georgetown and more. Students were admitted through inflated standardized tests scores and fabricated athletic prowess with the help of Singer, who allegedly orchestrated the scheme through his charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation. Singer was named in the indictment, alongside actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, fashion giant Mossimo Giannulli, Silicon Valley social impact investor William McGlashan Jr. and more.

The news has resulted in a national reckoning of the inequity of academic opportunities and education in America at all levels. In its wake, two Stanford students filed a federal class-action lawsuit against eight universities embroiled in the scandal, alleging that “they did not receive what [they] paid for — a fair admissions consideration process,” the L.A. Times reported. Although one of the initial plaintiffs has since dropped out of the lawsuit, the other continues to seek damages for any student who applied to one of the universities named in the lawsuit from 2012 to 2018 and were not admitted.

“Their actions were without a doubt insidious, selfish and shameful,” FBI Special Agent Joseph Bonavolonta said on Mar. 12. “And the real victims in the case are the hardworking students who did everything they could to set themselves up for success in the college admissions process, but ended up being shut out because far less qualified students and their families simply bought their way in.”

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