That would have to be the rationale that they would have for those childhood journals to be faked. And we cant acknowledge that, so we then have to pick apart the other pieces of it, and say that well this, this just cant be real. I think for a lot of us, we have to sort of other poverty and abuse and put it in a box, partly, to protect ourselves. They had done their own investigation again, quotes on investigation and then I had submitted over a hundred pages of documents to them. So one question was: Are you from a low-income family? woman who won a coveted scholarship in the US to study at Oxford after claiming she was poor, overcame childhood abuse and grew up in foster care lost the opportunity after it emerged she was. We started building this, and this is exactly who we built it for. His master's level university, Ivy College Pennsylvania, also failed to grant him the acquired master's degree . Are we going to see these injuries? And at the time I was more in panic mode than like, let me step back and look at this logically, theres absolutely no case, this is an intimidation tactic to try to silence me and sign this NDA and withdraw from the Rhodes and agree to whatever terms they wanted me to agree to you. And all of us, no matter what our situation, are not completely safe from it. A picture of her was posted at the nurse's station should she make the attempt. "Without her trauma, she didnt matter", wrote a commentator in the Tulane Hullabaloo. At Oxford University, Mackenzie Fierceton will conduct research on the "foster care-to-prison" pipeline. Or do you think that the wheels were already in motion before that? She was abused, but there is not enough blood." [2], Wendy Ruderman, a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, called Fierceton to interview her for a story about the scholarship. Since we began the Reshuffled journey, any mention of foster care grabs my attention, the same with Tracy. As in Fierceton's case, it took an hour to remove Driver from the building. In 2019, Fierceton testified in a court hearing that, in September 2014, her mother allegedly pushed her down a set of stairs and hit her in the face several times. And especially, again, like these stereotypes of black and brown, low-income families, the knee-jerk reaction is like: Oh, well, theyre unequipped to be a parent. It seemed like there was a lack of internal emergency protocols within our grad school, the School of Social Policy & Practice. [2], The fine was later withdrawn after it was found to conflict with a provision of the university's charter prohibiting the imposition of fines in cases involving academic integrity. And I turned over all this information to his widow. Just a quick circling back, Im actually not sure if it was her who first reached out or if it was General Counsel Wendy White, because I later found out that they had a phone call about 36 hours after the article came out and seemed to talk pretty extensively, and then there were a lot of emails that happened. And thats actually one of the things that, if there was any doubt whatsoever about this story, in some ways it was settled by that. And where are you at school? [2], At the beginning of April,[5] after she came to school with a black eye that showed through the concealer she put over it, she was taken to see the wellness director, who asked what had happened. But those definitions arent anywhere to be found. And then it just launched into the first half being a line-by-line it felt like interrogation of my applications. And then she hired a law firm and eventually they were doing their own investigation for several months. Enough bruises? MF: Its hard to say. And then theres also foster siblings in the sense of other people who are in the foster care system who youre living with. There were so many there are, I guess I should say so many moving pieces. Why would I do that? And I havent been on any of the Penn websites. While Kerr noted that Fierceton's three weeks in the hospital was far longer than might be expected given the bruises that led to her admission, she also noted the absence of injuries to Fierceton's back despite having reportedly fallen or being thrown downstairs. Whereas white parents, a lot of times, it is much harder the bar is much higher to remove them from their homes because their whiteness or possibly class privilege or whatever identities that they have that might not fit a social worker or judges or whoevers involved perception of whose kids should be in the foster system. MF: You know, in my personal experience, there were not very many kids who came from a background like me. RG: Anything in particular jump out at you after having read back over that transcript? And its no offense its not like the most profound . I didnt encounter many of them in the two years that I was living in foster families. MF: Yeah. Two other women he was involved with had also reported him to law enforcement). I have some of my own theories, but I want to hear yours. Are we going to see these injuries? [2], In the early 2000s the couple went through a protracted divorce during which a guardian ad litem was appointed to represent their daughter's interests at the custody hearing. So the Rhodes Trust ended up after their quote-investigation, and I submitted all the evidence, they ended up still recommending that my scholarship be rescinded, uh, but I had another opportunity to respond to their report, which I absolutely wanted to do. You know, I believe the first people who said that was the Rhodes Trust. Have you ever heard of her case? Her account was not completely inaccurateshe described as a foster child one sibling of hers who was actually the biological child of her foster parents, for instance, which she attributed later to not having developed her essay at length. Its practically half of Americans, or more. I didnt really know what it was going to be, but I feel like its always good to have someone with you. I really appreciate it. Like, they want to curate a diverse experience for their well-off students, so that they can say that they had this diverse experience in college . What about Rhodes? Fierceton was mentioned in the complaint as having experienced similar issues following her seizure; she was deposed in the suit in March 2021, the month before the university's investigation led her to withdraw from the Rhodes Scholarship. But once I got out of the hospital and I learned that information, I remembered that a classmate had died in the same basement about 16 months earlier. And so they had to see some benefit to them in doing this. And I suspected that it was about this anonymous email. It recommended that Fierceton's master's be withheld until she paid a $4,000 fine and that her academic transcript carry a notation that she was sanctioned for her "objective inaccuracy" in answering the first-generation question on her application. After a teacher reported what they felt was abuse, a social worker came by and your mother was able to just charm the pants off her. She is a student who found herself in a complex and easily-misunderstood situation: working towards her degree without support from family. The reality star has struggled with drug addiction for years. Anything in particular jump out at you after having read back over that transcript? Our grad school had no specific definitions or instructions, but I did have a relationship with the associate director of admissions at the time. Am I right about that? At first she explained Fierceton's injuries as either having been caused by an intruder or somehow self-inflicted, then said her daughter had fallen downstairs while she was trying to help her get some chewing gum out of her hair. Theres no cell phone reception in the basement. Yeah. And then instantly people started picking her story apart. Absolutely. [2], During her high school years, Fierceton has alleged that her mother subjected her to emotional and physical abuse, the latter enough on more than one occasion to require hospitalization. Theres a lot of chaos. "While it is possible that [she] was the cause of the alleged injuries," she wrote a month afterward, "the court cannot make that finding by a preponderance of the evidence based on the evidence presented." verbally. Cops have accused the MTV star of stalking as well as violation of an order of protection. And just Deputy Provost Finkelstein saying: No. We dont believe you. "[3][l], The Chronicle story led to nationwide coverage,[17][18] most of which framed the narrative as Penn and the Rhodes Trust had in their reports, depicting Fierceton as yet another exposed fraud. Yeah. And youre getting instruction from a university official that that's how you're supposed to fill it out, that's what the definition says online. And Penn is still claiming that those are fake journals. [2], The next morning, when Fierceton awoke, Morrison told her she was taking her car keys and telling the school she was sick. It was more, I think, in the times after and the months after where I ended up like giving different medical records and all of these things to corroborate my account, but there were a few questions that were very specific to what had happened. [1]:95, Judge Kristine Allen Kerr ultimately held for Morrison. And at the time I was more in panic mode than like, let me step back and look at this logically, theres absolutely no case, this is an intimidation tactic to try to silence me and sign this NDA and withdraw from the Rhodes and agree to whatever terms they wanted me to agree to you. Thats the reality of it, but we dont want to think of it that way. [1]:115 As to her previous involvement with the child welfare system, Penn says Fierceton told them she was not certain, but she was referring either to the guardian ad litem appointed for her during her parents' divorce or an earlier incident when she and her biological parents were still living in Connecticut. "She was falling apart under the academic stresses at school and was exhausted, and I believe looking for an out." But I got a bit of pressure from Penn to do that. I think this is a conversation not necessarily for people who are still in question about what happened here. Im part of a wrongful death lawsuit that was filed in August, 2020. So that was what the actual poem and personal statement was about [laughs.] But I guess I cant say for sure. [2] Afterwards Morrison changed her daughter's last name to her own. Fierceton was born August 9, 1997, under the name Mackenzie Terrell, in Danbury, Connecticut,[1] to Carrie Morrison, a physician who would later head the breast imaging department at St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, where the couple lived. She had bruises all over her body in different stages of healing an obvious sign of child abuse.. She was then admitted to Penn on a full scholarship, where she identified as a first-generation low-income (FGLI) student despite her background due to her estrangement from her parents and lack of financial support from them, a classification she says Penn officials told her was acceptable in those circumstances. [14], Fierceton and her faculty supporters have suspected that Penn's investigation of her, and its determination to cast aspersions on her credibility, may be related to her role in fomenting a wrongful death suit filed against the university in August 2020, before she had been announced as a Rhodes Scholarship winner. ", When Penn's Office of Student Conduct confronted Fierceton with the discrepancy between her statement on two of her applications that she ", The exact definition of FGLI relevant to forms Fierceton filled out is a key point in the Rhodes Trust and Penn investigations of her. And it became pretty clear to me that they had spoken to Carrie and or seen medical records. [3] In high school there, Fierceton was a model student. 207 1,590 6,062 Show this thread Mackenzie Fierceton @MFierceton Aug 8 Will never not make my day to see this on the shelf. But teachers noticed that Fierceton often seemed physically uncomfortable in her mother's presence, and a close friend noted that she was often injured. MF: You know, I honestly dont know. The nurse also reported bruises all over Fierceton's body, in different stages of healing, considered an indicator of possible physical abuse. And thats actually one of the things that, if there was any doubt whatsoever about this story, in some ways it was settled by that. And Im glad that people are having the kinds of systemic discussions that are so key to all of this. Yes, it may be true that institutions like UPenn give students like Fierceton opportunities because of their story, but that does not mean her narrative is theirs for the taking. And even now, The New Yorker quotes a lot from my childhood journals describing my abuse. And they were the ones I believe and this is public now because Penn attached it to their response to the lawsuit I filed and I believe they were the first ones to mention that I had gone to private school and that they were questioning if I was low-income. What foster family were you with in X,Y, Z year? And, honestly, first-generation is never something Ive really identified with fully. Her supporters at Penn have called for the university's acting provost, Beth Winkelstein, to be held accountable for her role in the investigation, which has been characterized as a continuation of the abuse. And theyll openly talk about this. But there was another definition that was also along those lines that I fit, that was, again, public on the website. How old were you when you were applying to college? Mackenzie Fierceton was named Penn's 2021 Rhodes Scholar. Its a very under-researched field. MF: And that is, I felt very defeated too. And I was in a kind of unique situation where I applied to grad school at the beginning of my sophomore year of college, because I sub-matriculated. I didnt even really think about it when I checked it, because I felt like I had a lot of information that backed it up. And that feels like one of them where it feels like the system is willfully misunderstanding reality in order to bend it in their direction. And at the time I was like: Why what? As a result she withdrew from the Rhodes Scholarship; a sympathetic Penn faculty member has paid her Oxford tuition in its stead.[2]. Medical records, records from child welfare services, corroborating letters from detectives and lawyers and elementary, middle, and high school teachers, childhood friends, professors basically everyone who had known me. But it doesnt mean you were always low-income, just that you are now. Enough blood? "I think that we could contribute to the community, the broader Philadelphia community, and the West Philadelphia community more positively, instead of doing things that are not only undermining them but are actively policing them, and end up creating and perpetuating more violence," she told The Daily Pennsylvanian, the university's student newspaper. [2], Local police were called. I cant remember if it was in the Rhodes essay or in another essay that, in hindsight, you wouldve tightened up. And then to be so unanimously disbelieved and, at that point, this article was like a paragraph and a half. RG: Who will spend some significant amount of time in poverty. And theres also literature thats economic literature versus sociology, different fields have different perspectives on what that relationship between foster care and the criminal justice system is and what the causes are. And that is, I felt very defeated too. Mackenzie Fierceton was deposed after seeking justice for a mature student, Cameron Driver, 38. And now they have to face the fact that someone who looks like them, who shares all these identities with them, could be the source of all of this harm. But when youre filling out a box where its yes or no and theres no more information or kind of! box [laughs], its like you have to fit yourself in, saying: Are you the first in your family to attend? And I ended up reading the comments, and the comments were just horrendous. And I asked in the email exchange: Is this about the anonymous email? And back in high school, it was a similar thing. Penn also noted that her name change had the effect, whether she had intended it or not, of making her background harder to research. Like, it seemed like an airtight case from my perspective. And then as the different internships, and then I went to get my masters in social work and all of this happened, I started to see that continue in different capacities while I was in different roles, seeing that theme in this relationship between foster care and the criminal justice system. I tried to help as much as I could. Right. "[2][j], The evening the story ran, Ruderman called Fierceton back and told her she had received some anonymously written emails casting doubt on what she had written. RG: Nothing I have is persuasive to these people. And so that was when it really transitioned, the second half of it, into these really intimate questions about my abuse until the point where I was sobbing and couldnt answer the questions anymore. So yes, I know that is me. She chose Fierceton from a list of names she had come up with herself that projected strength, and a petition to the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia was accepted. Then the University of Pennsylvania accused her of lying. [2], Fierceton was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Penn) on a full scholarship, arranged through QuestBridge. I want to talk about where you think that pushback came from. "[2], That feeling was not mutual, Fierceton came to suspect. Our concern is instead with the conduct of our. I was in this private school with a lot of upper-middle class or wealthy white students. MF: You know, I believe the first people who said that was the Rhodes Trust. Mackenzie Fierceton described herself as s a "queer,. Penn officials, of course, have said the interview was appropriate. You have a good education and youre clearly smart. The show was mixed by William Stanton. There were definitely, Im sure. RG: Talk just a little bit about that case . [1]:111112, Penn's investigators asked Fierceton why she had pretended to be asking on another's behalf when she made her queries within the university. on about your day, ask yourself: How likely is it that the story you just read would have been produced by a different news outlet if The Intercept hadnt done it? Mackenzie Fierceton of St. Louis was an Oxford student who had to offer her a Rhodes scholarship after the university caught her lying about her financial condition and her unpleasant teenage years on her application reports. And I think said something along the lines of there were things missing and it was distorted. And if you read it aloud, its almost exactly the length of the phone call. Her mother had no explanation for the injuries, other than saying perhaps she had done it to herself. But that was definitely a driving force for why I decided, ultimately, to withdraw because I felt like: OK, federal prison is no joke. Fierceton described herself as a first-generation college applicant who came from a low-income, foster-care background. Thats not in question. A petition to the county circuit court to have the arrest expunged was granted in a one-page order that attributed the arrest to "false information". She also called herself a first-generation low-income student. [i] Ruderman corroborated that later to The New Yorker, saying she was paraphrasing Fierceton's self-identification as FGLI. Because Im not under any illusion that Im the typical foster kid. Or whatever our kind of contemporary version of it is. How many people kind of fit that category that you interacted with, and how many kind of fit closer to your category, not just in your own interactions, but also in your research? OSC referred the recommendation to an SP2 panel to make a final determination; she has subsequently appealed the decision. And is it somewhat of a defense mechanism that people deploy to protect themselves? RG: So I could imagine why at some point youd be like, you know what, Im just not going to keep taking Ls here. RG: Like questioning: How much blood? [2], At the beginning of the next school year, Fierceton was examined by her pediatrician, who noticed a large bruise on her arm but chose not to X-ray it, a decision the doctor later regretted. Again following the advice of her college counselor, she did not identify her parents on her application, since she was estranged from both of them (she describes them both as "biological"[3][2]). And what was the first-generation community like on campus? Fierceton, according to Penn's response, had learned during her parents' divorce how to make calls to the child-abuse hotline and that teachers were mandatory reporters. My life is over, Im in the hospital, Im at rock bottom. [7] The charges against Lovelace were dropped later for lack of evidence. She felt as if it might have been an attempt to intimidate her. That night at home, Morrison, who had apparently learned of the report, confronted her daughter about it. Like what does Penn say when you tell them: Hey, the Penn official who helped me fill this out said that these are the categories that I fit. As an anonymous letter writer revealed, however, she was also the privately educated child of a radiologist, brought up in an affluent suburb. [2] Winkelstein, who has a Ph.D. in bioengineering and has studied injuries,[3] then proceeded to interrogate Fierceton at length about her abuse and hospitalization, in a manner that led Fierceton to believe that not only did Winkelstein doubt her story but had spoken with Morrison. And when will you have finished up your Ph.D.? And I just want to read this for people. in America. Like, they want to curate a diverse experience for their well-off students, so that they can say that they had this diverse experience in college . 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