Oh, to be rich, famous, and powerful: Lori Loughlin’s two month prison sentence

Oh, to be rich, famous, and powerful: Lori Loughlin’s two month prison sentence

Taylor DeGuzman / Arts and Culture Editor

Imagine a perfect world where trying “hard” ceased to exist. You didn’t have to build a strong resume to get your dream job; you got your dream job because of who you are. You didn’t need to work tirelessly from 9-5 to make money to support yourself; you have all the money you could ever ask for because of who you are. Even craziest of all, instead of indebting 18 years of your life volunteering, working, being a student, facing adversities, playing sports, participating in musicals, being a human being, sculpting the perfect enough version of yourself to fill the void of possibly not getting into that prestigious dream college of yours, instead of all of that, you just got in, plain and simple because of who you are. You didn’t have to try hard at all. But, only in a perfect world right? Wrong. Olivia Gianulli and Isabella Gianulli, daughters of Full House’s Lori Loughlin, did just that. 

During the 2019 ‘Varsity Blues’ college admissions scandal, several individuals were accused of criminal conspiracy in bribing undergraduate admissions decisions at several top, prestigious universities. Of those accused, the most high profile names involved were Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli. Loughlin and Gianulli were accused of paying $500,000 to the founder of The Edge College & Career Network, Rick Singer. 

The bribery successfully landed Olivia and Isabella Gianulli, their daughters, acceptances into the University of Southern California (USC), under false crew (rowing) team credentials. To think that neither of the girls played the sport competitively means that they took two viable spots on the rowing team that could have gone to prospective USC crew recruits. 

After both parents plead guilty to the charges in May 2020, it was recently released that Loughlin would serve a two month prison sentence on top of two year supervision, complete 100 hours of community service and pay a fine of $150,000. Her husband, who committed an additional count of honest services fraud on top of what his wife committed, will serve a five month prison sentence on top of two year supervision, 200 hours of community service, and pay a fine of $250,000. 

It is interesting to see the situation from the perspective that Loughlin and Gianulli merely acted out of sheer love for their children. Through a blurry and muddled lens, one could make the argument that they wanted to give their daughters the best possible college experience: a taste of “normal life” away from paparazzi and the glamour of Hollywood. In a way, it is difficult to even grasp the amount of money and net worth that both Loughlin and Gianulli have. It is difficult to grasp the implications of being worth so much, and the power behind having $500,000 to spare just to get your child into any college of their choice.

This case hits home with USD also being involved in the college admissions scandal. Though Loughin and Gianulli are well-known, high-profile names involved in the scandal, other individuals not as involved in the public eye contributed as well. Namely, Robert Flaxman, a former father of a USD engineering student, pled guilty to paying $75,000 in order to fabricate his daughter’s ACT scores, which were sent to USD. 

The case not only concerned his daughter, but also his son, as well as Martin Fox and former USD men’s basketball head coach, Lamont Smith. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Fox facilitated bribes paid for by Flaxman and received by Smith in order to designate the son and daughter as a basketball recruit and team manager. Both Flaxman’s son and daughter received admission, but only his son decided to attend USD as an Industrial and Systems Engineering major for three years. The son no longer attends USD. Flaxman was sentenced to one month in prison on top of a $50,000 fine and 250 hours of community service. 

Another case involving a mother from La Jolla, Elizabeth Kimmel, who was accused of paying $475,000 to Singer, the founder of the College and Career Network used to bribe admissions, is set to go to trial in January 2021 after Loughlin and Gianulli go to trial. Singer promised Kimmel that he would get her children into Georgetown and USC by boosting their qualifications.

A child only hopes that their parents would do anything to make them happy. But paying thousands and thousands of dollars to admit your kids to a prestigious university is crossing all the lines of fairness, morale and integrity. Dismissing the amount of hard work and dedication that goes into college admissions, let alone the blood, sweat, and many many tears that go into preparing to apply for colleges, solely because you have the wealth and power to do so, is crossing every line in the book. 

The year before college applications are due, some students spend countless hours in SAT or ACT prep classes, preparing to take a standardized test that will, in some cases, make or break their college decision. The summer before college applications are due is one of the most stressful times of a student’s high school career. One can find themselves writing and rewriting and revising a multitude of personal essays and statements for months to get the perfect essays that make them stand out amongst millions. 

Not taking into consideration the years and years of dedicating one’s life to a sport, passion or project, and only thinking about the year a student spends focusing on college admissions, a two-month and even five-month sentence pale in comparison to that one year. 

It begs the question, would you or I receive such a light sentence? Would someone way less privileged, less high profile, less famous, receive this sentence? I feel that the answers are undoubtedly no. 

In 2016, a Texas mother was sentenced to five years in prison for voting illegally during the 2016 election. Crystal Mason, an African-American mother of three, voted while on probation, after being released for serving prison time due to tax fraud in 2012. Under Texas law, a felon on supervision is ineligible to vote. Mason was unaware of this and her probation officer never told her that she could not vote due to her status. 

Mason was unaware that her actions were illegal; Loughlin was aware. 

There is a distinct difference between a two-month sentence and a five-year sentence. There is a distinct difference between unknowingly committing a crime under Texas law by exercising one’s right to vote, and purposefully committing criminal conspiracy in bribing college admissions to acquire acceptances from prestigious colleges and universities. 

The admissions scandal unveiled what money can buy you in the admissions process. It still brings to focus just how many people may still run underground admissions operations, and how many rich parents and important individuals are still able to get their kids into the colleges of their choices. It’s interesting to think about what might go on behind closed doors when money and influence are waved in the faces of college admissions. 

This case, and the difference in Loughlin and Gianulli’s prison sentences, intensify the influence of the rich and the power of the privileged in this not so perfect, perfect world. Our justice system rewards the rich and powerful while harming and punishing the poor or less fortunate. Our justice system is supposedly founded on fairness, in treating the rich and poor equally. But in several situations, and especially this one, it seems that fairness is dealt out according to who is fortunate enough to pay for their crime. In this not so perfect, perfect world it appears to be the case that the rich and powerful merely receive a slap on the wrist, a month or so in prison, and get to live out the rest of their life, whereas the poor and less fortunate much rather stay in prison then live in debt for the rest of their lives paying probation bills. 

“The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of The USD Vista staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.”