This week in admissions hypocrisy

Still upset about not getting into Harvard? Don’t worry — the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology didn’t either.

As a matter of fact, Marilee Jones, who resigned from her post as head crusher of student dreams last week, didn’t even get into Cornell, the slacker Ivy. A long overdue records check of Dean Jones, who began her admissions career in 1979 and became MIT’s dean of admissions in 1997, showed that although her résumé boasted degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, she had not received diplomas from any of them.

According to The New York Times, Albany and Union never heard of her. Jones did attend Rensselaer for a brief period during the 1970s as a non-matriculated student, but received no degree.

As dean of admissions at one of the country’s most selective schools, Jones made a name for herself by “urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect,” The Times reported. She even wrote a book, titled Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond.

According to a passage from the book cited by The Times: “Holding integrity is sometimes very hard to do because the temptation may be to cheat or cut corners … but just remember that what goes around comes around, meaning that life has a funny way of giving back what you put out.”

It doesn’t get much more ironic than that, does it?

This column reported a few weeks ago that Harvard University rejected a record number of qualified applicants this year. At the time, I urged students not to feel too bad about it. And while I don’t have a degree yet either, I don’t think it takes a college diploma to see the sense in that.

Truck careens into house at KU

The Chi Omega sorority house at the University of Kansas hosted an unexpected party crasher during the wee hours Sunday morning: a Dodge Dakota pickup truck. The vehicle careened into the residence after a brief police chase that reached speeds up to 80 miles per hour, The Daily Kansan reported.

The truck narrowly missed several students, who were taking a “study break” to swim in the fountain outside the house.

“One girl was throwing up right where the truck went the minute before,” one swimmer told The Kansan. “We were just so vulnerable.”

Why there was vomiting and swimming is another issue altogether, but the truck incident kind of overshadowed that question.

Neither the swimmers nor the driver of the truck sustained any serious injuries, but the students privy to the occasion said they have no plans to swim in the fountain again any time soon.

I’m sure the driver of the Dakota feels likewise about his part in the drama.

And you thought your dorm was bad

Students at the University of New Mexico say their dorms are not up to reasonable standards, according to an article in the university’s student newspaper, The Daily Lobo.

How are they not up to par? Residents cited cockroach infestation, broken lights and windows that would not shut or lock as common problems.

Students told The Lobo they followed the proper procedure for having the problems fixed, which entails requesting a work order and having it filed by a resident adviser or desk attendant, but that, in some cases, weeks would elapse before the situations were given any attention.

The housing manager at UNM cited a “communication issue” as the reason some repairs were not made promptly. The housing staff tries to address all problems as quickly as possible, he said.

But cockroaches? Eww. If your room has to be roach-proofed, perhaps it’s time to explore some alternate living options.

Reach columnist Blythe Lawrence at news@thedaily.washington.edu.