Reader S. notes that administrator's penchants for cheating have extended beyond tests to student elections (and no, we're not talking about the movie Election here):
His opponent was known throughout school as "the perfect kid," Scott Dubnoff said. Smart. Athletic. Popular. Even Dubnoff liked Dave Dobrosky. But Dubnoff had thrown his hat in the ring for student government president of Mountain Lakes High School, and he planned to win.The votes were cast, but who won for sure is now a matter of dispute. School administrators say Dubnoff lost, but they can't prove it because the ballots were thrown away. Dubnoff says he won and insists he can prove it -- because his father dug the ballots out of the school's trash bin.
Hoo-boy. Sounds like the educrats didn't appreciate Dubnoff's sense of humor:
Dubnoff said he knew that to defeat his opponent, he would have to be creative. Instead of delivering a standard, straightforward speech -- the kind he expected from his competitor -- he would be different."Different" meant walking on stage in a generalissimo-style uniform, flanked by two friends dressed as Secret Service agents, and riding the joke for all it was worth. "The spirit of our collective mass has made it known that I am the Chosen One, the manifest of our destiny here in Mountain Lakes," said Dubnoff, who often goes by "Mitch." "Under me, the Mitch Coalition will march into the dawning of a new era: A utopia where homework, tests and punctuality are henceforth irrelevant."
He made his classmates promises -- some sincere, others intentionally ludicrous..."I was up against the best guy," Dubnoff said. "I wanted it to be big and I wanted it to be funny and I wanted people to talk about it."
The school has since made Dubnoff and Dobrosky co-presidents, which sounds like an admission that someone fudged the numbers, or that the school admins can't count.
Posted by kswygert at June 21, 2005 10:11 AM