Let’s begin with a personal story: When I was a Graduate Student at UCLA in Political Science, I also taught a number of classes. In one of them, I had a student who was the son of a world-reknowned tennis star who was just beginning to play on the school’s tennis team. Although these were the days of UCLA at its basketball zenith, other teams, including tennis, were nationally ranked.

This student was an academic slouch. He rarely studied, did poorly on tests, and regularly mouthed-off. He felt and acted entitled. During his final exam, he was caught cheating, copying answers from an equally poor student, and he flunked the course. He became ineligible to play tennis and at UCLA that was a big deal. I was heavily pressured by school administrators to pass him, but that was not to be. This was not an unusual occurrence at UCLA when it came to sports and students who should never have been accepted.

Today, in light of the latest influence-peddling scandal at so many highly ranked schools (including UCLA), it is apparent that not only is cheating acquiring new forms, but is effects are increasingly tragic for those students deserving of entry, but are rejected, maybe because they can’t afford to engage in the pay-to-play game.

News reports assert that the admitted perpetrator of this new admissions fiasco earned $25 million in bribes. We also recently learned that Donald Trump threatened schools he attended not to publicly release his grades. He also regularly preaches how smart he is since he attended an Ivy League School. Something not right here? It is, again, likely part of the same process: paying-to-play where those less advantaged, whether by lack of sufficient wealth and/or other reasons, get screwed.

In Graduate School, I remember the debates over Affirmative Action, especially those arising from the more privileged, generally white, segments of the community. Today, in part because of such debates, along with court rulings, this effort to affirmatively assist students who demonstrate their suitability for admission, but for one reason or another are not accepted, has tragically slowed down. Some schools have entirely ended the program.

Hopefully, this new academic admissions scandal will revive the debate about who, in fact, is denied admission and who and why certain others obtain entry. While Affirmative Action is no longer widely used, corrupt admission  practices are as rampant on the nation’s campuses as corruption is a norm for the Trump Presidency. Both require intense legal review, indictments, and repair.