Blair Hornstine

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Blair Leah Hornstine is a graduate of Moorestown High School who in 2003, while in her final year at the school, sued the Moorestown Township Public Schools Board of Education to stop them "from retroactively applying to her a proposed policy amendment that would allow the designation of multiple valedictorians".[1]:§I Under the then existing school policy, Blair Hornstine would have been the sole recipient of the honor.[1]:§II After the Federal District Court ruled in her favor, a local newspaper revealed that she had failed to properly attribute sources in several newspaper articles by her that they had published in 2002.

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[edit] Valedictorian controversy

Under the published school board policy for the 2002-2003 academic year, the graduating senior student with the highest seventh semester weighted grade point average (GPA) was to be named the valedictorian, and the second highest student was to be named the salutatorian.[1]:§II At the end of the fall 2002 semester, the seventh for her class, Blair Hornstine had the highest weighted grade point average in the senior class, 4.689, a score 0.055 higher than the runner-up's 4.634.[2]

In the fall of 2002, Moorestown Superintendent of Schools Paul J. Kadri was approached by “parents, students, and other community members” who complained that “students were not provided equal opportunities to earn the awards” because of accommodations granted to Hornstine. Kadri held meetings at the high school in early 2003 in which he discussed changing the school policy to allow multiple valedictorians. In April, Kadri proposed an amendment to the existing policy that read "In determining the recipients of [the awards of valedictorian and salutatorian], the Board may review the program of study, manner of instruction, and other relevant issues, and in its discretion, with the assistance of the administration, may designate multiple valedictorians and/or salutatorians to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to compete for these awards." The proposal was to be voted on by the school board on May 12. On May 1, Hornstine filed a complaint in Federal District Court seeking an injunction to prevent the school board from changing its policy retroactively, as well as $2.7 million in damages. Kadri sent a letter to the runner-up advising him he was under consideration for valedictorian honors. Kadri sent no similar letter to Hornstine.[1]:§II

Blair Hornstine was classified with a disability, reportedly a type of chronic fatigue syndrome[3] or immune deficiency,[4] but its exact nature was never disclosed publicly. She received an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) approved by the school board. Kadri contended that because of the “availability of many AP courses in her home instruction program" Hornstine "was able to earn more 'weighted' grades” than other students. Moorestown High School assigned a higher weight to advanced placement (AP) courses and honors courses in calculating a student's GPA. An A+ grade, worth 4 point towards the GPA in a regular course, counted as 5 points in an AP course and 4.5 points in an honors course. Kadri further claimed "she was also able to secure higher grades in her home instruction classes than students enrolled in the same courses at Moorestown High School.”[1]:§II

The court rejected those claims pointing out that the runner up had taken two more AP courses than Hornstine, and while she had taken three more honors courses than the runner up, the net result was a statistical advantage for the runner up. The Court also examined and rejected claims that she was graded less stringently. [1]:§II

Superintendent Kadri claimed that Hornstine's father, a New Jersey Superior Court judge in Camden County, had told him in September that "he was going to manipulate rules designed to protect disabled students for the purpose of allowing [Blair Hornstine] to win the valedictorian award".[5] Judge Hornstine denied making those statements and the assistant superintendent of schools, Judithann Keefe, who was present at the September meeting, filed an affidavit contradicting her boss and supporting Judge Hornstine's account of what was said there.[6]

During this time, Blair Hornstine was accepted to Harvard University and four other prominent universities (Stanford, Duke, Princeton, and Cornell). [7] However, she decided that she would attend Harvard, where her brother was about to graduate. [8]The runner-up also accepted an offer to attend Harvard in the fall.

Local and later national media focused intense attention on the case, leading to talk-radio scorn, an online petition calling for Harvard to revoke her admission[8] and unflattering front-page photos in the Philadelphia tabloid newspapers.

On May 8, 2003, U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson ordered the Moorestown school district to follow its existing policy and name Blair Hornstine the sole valedictorian for the class of 2003. Wolfson wrote, "Ms. Hornstine earned her distinction as the top student in her class in spite of, not because of, her disability". [1]:§V

The Court found that Blair Hornstine met the conditions for issuing an injunction, including a likelihood of prevailing on the merits of her case. In addition to finding that "the Board's proposed action was intended and designed to have a particular exclusionary effect on plaintiff because of her disabled status," the Court cited a ruling by the New Jersey Commissioner of Education, in a case where there was no disability issue, that barred a retroactive change to requirements for the award of valedictorian.[1]:§IV-A

Hornstine's claim for compensatory and punitive damages was settled on August 19 for $60,000; all but $15,000 of which went to lawyers' fees. On June 11, Hornstine, through her lawyer, Edwin Jacobs, informed the school that she would not attend graduation (which was held on June 19) and request her valedictorian award be made in absentia, citing the school environment had "traumatized Blair both physically and emotionally". Her classmates had been spray-painting obscenities and throwing eggs and toilet paper at the Hornstine house, and her parents had received numerous death threats over the telephone.[9]

[edit] Courier-Post controversy

Shortly after Judge Wolfson handed down her decision, The Courier-Post reported that five items by Blair Hornstine that they published "had information from sources that was not properly attributed." Hornstine had, in 2002, contributed several columns to the "Static" section of The Courier-Post, a weekly insert aimed at teenagers. In an apology published in The Courier-Post, Hornstine said that her failure to properly attribute material resulted from her "lack of training in journalism." [10]

[edit] Loss of Harvard acceptance

On July 11, The Harvard Crimson reported that Harvard had rescinded its offer of admission. The Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Marlyn McGrath Lewis, declined to comment on Hornstine's case specifically, but she discussed five conditions under which admissions might generally be revoked.[9]

In 2006, Blair Hornstine graduated from St. Andrews University in Scotland with a degree in classics.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Hornstine v. Township of Moorestown, 263 F.Supp.2d 887 (D.N.J. 2003-05-08).
  2. ^ Jonathan V. Last. "First in Her Class", The Weekly Standard, 2003-07-07. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  3. ^ Joanne Jacobs. "Demographics, Nerves, Valedictorian, Vouchers", Fox News, 2003-05-09. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. 
  4. ^ "Report: Blair Hornstine Dropped From Harvard For Plagiarism", WCAU, 2003-7-11. Retrieved on 2007-05-24. 
  5. ^ Goldman, John J.. "Student Sues to Be a Sole Valedictorian" (fee required), The Nation, Los Angeles Times, 2003-05-08, p. A27. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. 
  6. ^ Jonathan V. Last. "First in Her Class", The Weekly Standard, 2003-07-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. 
  7. ^ The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Hornstine Settles Lawsuit With N.J. School District
  8. ^ a b Strauss, Robert. "A Valedictory Mess at Moorestown High", Up Front: Worth Noting, New York Times, 2003-06-08. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. 
  9. ^ a b Elizabeth W. Green and J. Hale Russell. "Harvard Takes Back Hornstine Admission Offer", Harvard Crimson, July 11, 2003. 
  10. ^ Hornstine, Blair. "Stories, essays lacked attribution". The Courier Post. June 3, 2003