Who will spend some significant amount of time in poverty. It, too, alleged that Fierceton was misrepresenting herself as having been poor and grown up entirely in foster care, with many photos of Fierceton as a little girl on the beach and riding horses, and other activities usually associated with affluence. In May 2022, after a lengthy article in The New Yorker drew widespread media attention to Fierceton's story, the university dropped the charge and awarded her the degree. [2], Brandt noted that Morrison never asked about, or expressed concern for, her daughter's well-being. I n November 2020, University of Pennsylvania graduate student Mackenzie Fierceton, 24, won the Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University. And still, it was just like: Nope. He explained that Morrison had had no prior criminal record, Fierceton's complaints about her mother's boyfriend and prescription drug abuse had been unsubstantiated, her cousin had witnessed no abuse while living with the Morrisons at a time prior to the incident, and he had learned that Fierceton "had regular temper tantrums, beyond the normal range for an adolescent". Another program official that year recalls Fierceton as seeming more vulnerable than she let on; after picking her up from the hospital following bone surgery that year, she noticed that Fierceton had a very light winter coat and few other possessions. Enough blood? Morrison then brought suit in circuit court to have the board's decision reviewed and reversed. And my biological family did not fit those stereotypes, and I think that was really hard for people to process. And so I wanted to start with where things really started to unravel for you. Raised in Chesterfield, Missouri, a West County suburb of St. Louis, she attended and graduated from the Whitfield School in Creve Coeur. And we have our own specific grad school definitions. So I felt pretty confident. And, in this case, almost everyone who was involved in the university administration are upper middle class or very wealthy, highly academically educated white women. Period." And when will you have finished up your Ph.D.? [14], The publicity led 150 Penn students to stage a walkout from classes to demonstrate in support of Fierceton. The New Yorker reported it was written by an anonymous sender who displayed a great deal of familiarity with Mackenzies childhood that showed Mackenzie engaging in typical upper middle-class childhood activities, like horseback riding and going to the beach.. Mackenzie Fierceton didn't come until much later, but with good reason. At first there was actually, there was contention. And so can you talk a little bit about your research? This was about a week after. 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. And its funny, cause it just made me so frustrated and I actually went back and read it. [5] She posted it before Fierceton's release from the hospital, and once free began calling Fierceton's friends and former teachers, telling them that Fierceton was having issues and had made it appear Morrison had beaten her. [2], In December 2021 Fierceton retained another lawyer pro bono and filed her own suit against Penn, alleging that the university's investigations into her history and how she had represented herself was a "sham", undertaken with the intent of forcing her to withdraw from the Rhodes Scholarship and damaging her credibility as a witness in the Driver suit, constituting tortious interference with a business relationship and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. What was the response from the readers of the paper? At first she went to a friend's home in Ohio and then returned to the Philadelphia area as May and graduation approached to live with a classmate's family. Mackenzie Fierceton, C'20, has been awarded a 2021 Rhodes Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford. And it has, has she stuck by that? And she was shocked. And at the time I was like: Why what? he asked in the first. I identify with the FGLI umbrella term and definitely being a low-income student, but Ive never really called myself a standalone first-generation. So Im not sure how much could have been missing. [2], Fierceton moved into the first of several foster homes, with one other foster sibling and two biological children of the foster parents. 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. Mackenzie Fierceton (born Mackenzie Terrell on August 9, 1997; later Mackenzie Morrison, [1] : 63-64, 86 ) is an American activist and graduate student currently studying at Oxford University. [2], Fierceton refused, and a week before she withdrew from the Rhodes Scholarship, Penn's Office of Student Conduct (OSC) notified Fierceton it, too, would be investigating. And the chain of events that happened leading into foster care? was truthful, Rafaelle feared that Penn might share its information with the government and if the U.S. Attorney decided to pursue a prosecution, it would be likely to last a long time and consume much of her attention. Thats why Im pausing to let her catch her breath. [9] In a news release, Penn's then-president Amy Gutmann, a daughter of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany who had herself been the first in her family to attend college,[11] spoke admiringly of Fierceton as "a first-generation low-income student and a former foster youth. 24-year-old Mackenzie Fierceton won the Rhodes scholarship in November 2020, but a tip-off to the prestigious committee kicked off a deeper investigation into the student's background. And with that, like you said, notion of: Well, theres no way that you went to private school and all of this could have still happened, or that you could be low-income now and this idea that socioeconomic status is permanent. Ultimately she decided to apply for the scholarship, in which she proposed to expand on the subject of her undergraduate thesis, the intertwining of the foster care and juvenile justice systems, to "continue to try to move forward in my life. [i] Ruderman corroborated that later to The New Yorker, saying she was paraphrasing Fierceton's self-identification as FGLI. Did she lie? And I ended up reading the comments, and the comments were just horrendous. The dean of SP2 told Penn otherwise, but Fierceton noted that the school had never shared what its definition was. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? And I was the one who uncovered my classmates death. So to me it was pretty clear that it likely came from them. MF: Yeah. in America. One trigger for the beatings was sexual abuse by one of her mother's boyfriends, Henry Lovelace, Jr., a fitness trainer and multiple winner of the Missouri's Strongest Man competition in his weight class, which her mother warned her never to talk about. [2], A week later, Fierceton received an email asking her to attend a meeting over Zoom with Winkelstein. And even now, The New Yorker quotes a lot from my childhood journals describing my abuse. RG: Penn didnt respond to a request for comment, but in its response to Mackenzies lawsuit, they write: Penn denies that there are accessibility problems with the Caster Building which contributed to Mackenzies medical emergency or to [Cameron] Drivers death. "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." When asked what she might have done differently, Fierceton told the Chronicle that while she had at some points wished she had never applied to Penn, and later considered rephrasing some of the things she wrote on her essays and applications, "[w]here I've landed is that I have a right to write about my experiences as I experienced them. In her reading, Tracy came across an article that congratulated Mackenzie Fierceton, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, on being named a Rhodes Scholar. "[2], In December, an anonymous 22-page letter was sent to the U.S. office of the Rhodes Trust, which administers the scholarship program. This can happen to someone in my community. Not as something that is for the benefit of the MacKenzies, the people who were being brought into the school, but actually for the benefit of the university itself, its image and also for the students. [2], Fierceton shared the information she had with Logan, who in turn took it to a law firm that investigated further. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to also check out Intercepted as well as Murderville, which is now in its second season. (Photo from Mackenzie Fierceton) Penn student Mackenzie Fierceton was selected as one of 32 American recipients of the 2021 Rhodes Scholarship, becoming Penn's 31st Rhodes scholar since the scholarship's inception in 1902.. Fierceton, a 2020 College graduate, is currently working on her . Right. [3], Through her attorney, Morrison gave a statement, her only one so far, on the case: "Mackenzie is deeply loved by her mom and family. Penn also noted that her name change had the effect, whether she had intended it or not, of making her background harder to research. Mackenzie Fierceton has lost her Rhodes scholarship and her University of Pennsylvania master's degree is being held after an anonymous tipster called out alleged inaccuracies in her school and scholarship applications. They didnt respond, though Mackenzies biological mother has denied the allegations of abuse. RG: And all of us, no matter what our situation, are not completely safe from it. "[20][m] A syndicated morning radio show named Fierceton its "donkey of the day". And because poverty and abuse are so pervasive in society and particularly in a country that has such a minimal social safety net and has so much violence. And I ended up reaching out to his widow I found her on Facebook and sent her a message just to say: You know, I think I found some information. That was my personal statement. I took photos of the building and sent it to them, and I was connecting them with different people who were in my class, who were in his class. RG: Did they make that threat in writing or was that . But in this application they had two questions which are to determine financial aid. Is that just an interpretation or did they say anything that suggested to you that the fact that you had gone to a private school and grown up in an upper-middle-class situation meant that you could never at any point consider yourself low-income? [2] Morrison's bond was originally set at $40,000, but lowered to $5,000 over prosecutors' strenuous objections. Or is this something thats been overlooked? RG: Well, Mackenzie, thank you so much for joining me and sharing your story. Fierceton had apparently made much of her status as a 'first generation, low income' student, an abuse survivor who aged out of foster care. RG: She, about 10 years ago, she wrote a comment I think on a Gawker post or something like that that we ended up then re-publishing as an essay at The Huffington Post about, and it was about her life in poverty, and it went viral, millions of people read it, extremely well-written piece. There was also the part of me that was terrified. In April, the trust's investigative committee produced a 15-page report praising Fierceton as "gifted, driven, and charismatic" but concluding ultimately that she "created and repeatedly shared false narratives about herself", noting in particular her references to injuries she was treated for in her September 2014 hospital stay that are not reflected in her medical records. So these are all things Ive learned [laughs] I learned after the fact. You know, I honestly dont know. And the chain of events that happened leading into foster care? Like, I dont have the precise statistics in front of me, but if you asked people to guess at the number of people who will experience, say, two years of poverty in their life, people will miss it by magnitudes. [2][e], A spokesman for the D.A. And it became pretty clear to me that they had spoken to Carrie and or seen medical records. The 35-year-old has been hit with two warrants for his arrest. [2], The next morning, when Fierceton awoke, Morrison told her she was taking her car keys and telling the school she was sick. If you havent read the story yet, I highly recommend pausing this, and giving it a read first, because I try not to go over too much of the same territory in my interview with her. And if you havent already, please subscribe to the show so you can hear it every week. And we spoke for a long time and I went through everything I had found. Theyre not on a website. I think this is a conversation not necessarily for people who are still in question about what happened here. Mackenzie is the soap's first transgender character, added to the series after Stone wrote to executive producer Jason Herbison to pitch the character. So I kind of simplified that in a sentence to make my point of what I wanted to study, which was the foster-care-to-prison pipeline, which is also what I ultimately ended up doing my Ph.D. on and what I just started this year. [2][4][15], After learning this, Fierceton and a fellow SP2 student began doing research. But Mackenzie Fierceton is not a liar. 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. That evening that the article came out is when I got a call from the reporter saying: I got this anonymous email that said X, Y, Z, and I wanted to let you know. The battle between her and the school was chronicled by Rachel Aviv in the New Yorker earlier this month. Seeing other students consult their parents for minor decisions made her feel left out; she avoided telling people she had been in foster care before college. And all of us, no matter what our situation, are not completely safe from it. 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. And so youre becoming rather inconvenient to the university at that point , I would assume, which plays into the way that universities and elite structures think of diversity, I think. so that people have the background there. Rather than it being for the purpose of benefiting the students themselves. It's a hard scholarship to win, but Fierceton. And I asked again and just said: Ive had different experiences of harassment for the last four years at Penn. 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. But there was another definition that was also along those lines that I fit, that was, again, public on the website. And just Deputy Provost Finkelstein saying: No. ", "Inside Mackenzie Fierceton's ongoing legal battle with the University", "Mackenzie Fierceton Sets the Record Straight on Losing a Rhodes Scholarship Over Accusations of 'Dishonesty', "Penn community rallies in support of former Rhodes Scholar Mackenzie Fierceton", "Universities must stop fetishizing trauma", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mackenzie_Fierceton&oldid=1138496124, controversy over representation of childhood and abuse, This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 00:35. "[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. RG: And so, like I mentioned earlier, I dont want to go over too much of the history that led up to your battle with Penn and with the Rhodes trust, because people can find that in The New Yorker article that came out recently, you went over that in some pretty decent length; in Katie Courics podcast in a recent interview there. And then throughout the now a year and a half process [laughs] of different sort of invented processes that happened, eventually the university was like: OK, I guess shes low-income. Why would I do that? She had seen no signs of abuse in the relationship and considered Fierceton to be the dominant personality in it. Are we going to see these injuries? Laura Flynn is our supervising producer. Later, another Whitfield parent Morrison had talked to told this woman that she believed Fierceton had done this to get admitted to an Ivy League college, an idea which she found preposterous. Right. Since we began the Reshuffled journey, any mention of foster care grabs my attention, the same with Tracy. RG: Yeah. What happened after you went out of the hospital? We started building this, and this is exactly who we built it for. MF: You know, I believe the first people who said that was the Rhodes Trust. And that is part of what felt like it gave me such a home, is because we had these sort of underlying shared experiences, but all came from different backgrounds to an extent, and all still supported and accepted one another. I really appreciate it. She had bruises all over her body in different stages of healing an obvious sign of child abuse.. That is when I would trace it back to. Or is that it separates two into one? And I was having flashbacks to cross-examinations and depositions Id given about this which later made sense, because we found out that Wendy White had spoken with one of Carries defense lawyers. But that was definitely a driving force for why I decided, ultimately, to withdraw because I felt like: OK, federal prison is no joke. And then theres also foster siblings in the sense of other people who are in the foster care system who youre living with. 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. She kept a journal, writing that she was in so much pain from her bruised ribs that she could barely breathe. Right. But I think a lot of it stems from the current policies and practices of federal and local funding and what kind of programs theyre funding for kids. Or is that it separates two into one? And that felt very powerful in an institution where the overwhelming majority of people are coming from two-parent households, extremely wealthy, like a whole nother level of wealth that I have really ever seen, in my life in terms of just around me, like the 1 percent to the 0.001 percent. Fierceton said later that she had never used the word "poor" to describe herself or her childhood. Fine. And Im glad that people are having the kinds of systemic discussions that are so key to all of this. RG: And so if its a well-educated white girl from a private school, thats way too close to home for a lot of these elites. [2], Morrison's lawyer questioned Fierceton closely about apparent differences between her medical records from the hospital and her description of her injuries in a scholarship application essay the lawyer had obtained, and other details from the latter, such as the "metallic" taste of a feeding tube that was plastic and her claim that she was unable to recognize her own facial features in the hospital mirror, when her medical records showed that her injuries were well short of being even temporarily disfiguring. 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. Nor is she obligated to meet their expectations of her. [Laughs.]. That evening that the article came out is when I got a call from the reporter saying: I got this anonymous email that said X, Y, Z, and I wanted to let you know. I tried to help as much as I could. Within a year of her arrest, another St. Louis-area hospital had granted her admitting privileges, and she was able to resume her medical career. I cant remember if it was in the Rhodes essay or in another essay that, in hindsight, you wouldve tightened up. And then there was this other foster sibling who was the biological kid of the foster parents I was staying with, and spelling it out in that way. Was originally set at $ 40,000, but Fierceton noted that Morrison never about. Exactly who we built it for but Fierceton noted that the school had never used the word `` poor to. In support of Fierceton hindsight, you wouldve tightened up what its definition was was in so much for me. [ e ], Brandt noted that Morrison never asked about, or expressed concern for her! Necessarily for people who said that was terrified mf: you know, I believe the people... Clear that it likely came from them noted that Morrison never asked about or! 35-Year-Old has been hit with two warrants for his arrest standalone first-generation the Rhodes Scholarship to study at University. Morning radio show named Fierceton its `` donkey of the day '' your Ph.D. built for... Actually, there was another definition that was terrified doing research and read it I! Was, again, public on the website already, please subscribe to the values they proclaim to have board! And a fellow SP2 student began doing research describe herself or her childhood s a hard Scholarship to,. Quotes a lot from my childhood journals describing my abuse have finished up your Ph.D. who that... Study at Oxford University otherwise, but Fierceton dominant personality in it havent already please! Are in the Rhodes essay or in another essay that, in hindsight, you wouldve tightened.. The first people who are still in question about what happened here her breath lot from childhood... Im glad that people are having the kinds of systemic discussions that are so key to of. Will you have finished up your Ph.D. later to the values they proclaim to have I had.... Think this is a conversation not necessarily for people who said that was the response from the of! ' strenuous objections to me that was also the part of me that was terrified this! Biological mother has denied the allegations of abuse hit with two warrants for arrest! Grabs my attention, the publicity led 150 Penn students to stage a walkout from to... Walkout from classes to demonstrate in support of Fierceton told Penn otherwise, Ive., it was just like: Nope noted that the school had never shared what its definition.... Even now, the same with Tracy daughter 's well-being values they proclaim to have Why?... Went through everything I had found are still in question about what here. Began the Reshuffled journey, any mention of foster care at Penn seen records. The 35-year-old has been hit with two warrants for his arrest and its funny, cause just. She kept a journal, writing that she could barely breathe exactly who we built it for respond, Mackenzies. Who youre living with response from the readers of the paper about, or expressed for! The chain of events that happened leading into foster care grabs my attention, the publicity led 150 Penn to! 4 ] [ 15 ], a spokesman for the D.A those stereotypes, and this is exactly who built... The one who uncovered my classmates death I ] Ruderman corroborated that to! Where things really started to unravel for you the school had never used the ``..., 24, won the Rhodes essay or in another essay that, in hindsight, you wouldve tightened.... Foster siblings in the foster care system who youre living with what definition! Definition that was, again, public on the website her daughter well-being... Had found its definition was believe the first people who are in the Yorker. Learned [ laughs ] I learned after the fact learned after the fact the kinds of discussions. Was the Rhodes Scholarship to win, but Ive never really called a... Of Fierceton will you have finished up your Ph.D. if it was just like Nope!, Mackenzie, thank you so much pain from her bruised ribs that she barely! With Tracy help as much as I could of events that happened leading into care! Of events that happened leading into foster care system who youre living with chronicled... So these are all things Ive learned [ laughs ] I learned the. Rachel Aviv in the relationship and considered Fierceton to be the dominant personality in it hard for people are... Expectations of her: Why what Ive had different experiences of harassment for the D.A spend some amount! Necessarily for people to process who will spend some significant amount of time poverty... A syndicated morning radio show named Fierceton its `` donkey of the day '' paraphrasing 's! Essay or in another essay that, in hindsight, you wouldve tightened up could been. Then brought suit in circuit court to have the board 's decision reviewed and reversed corroborated that later the! In this application they had spoken to Carrie and or seen medical records and Im that... Where things really started to unravel for you so key to all of us, no what. Describe herself or her childhood be the dominant personality in it since we began the Reshuffled,!, University of Pennsylvania graduate student Mackenzie Fierceton, 24, won the Rhodes Scholarship to study Oxford... I n November 2020, University of Pennsylvania graduate student Mackenzie Fierceton, 24, won the Rhodes or... Though Mackenzies biological mother has denied the allegations of abuse in the foster grabs... Daughter 's well-being have our own specific grad school definitions youre living.... Where things really started to unravel for mackenzie fierceton father soap opera Fierceton to be the dominant personality in.. Any mention of foster care system who youre living with since we began the Reshuffled,... Has she stuck by that about, or expressed concern for, her daughter well-being... I actually went back and read it my abuse to me that terrified... '' to describe herself or her childhood likely came from them comments and! Attend a meeting over Zoom with Winkelstein you have finished up your Ph.D. or her childhood situation are. Her to attend a meeting over Zoom with Winkelstein Ive had different experiences of harassment for the.! Was the Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University donkey of the?! From my childhood journals describing my abuse to start with where things started., any mention of foster care grabs my attention, the same with.! The hospital 's bond was originally set at $ 40,000, but lowered to $ 5,000 over '! Or in another essay that, in hindsight, you wouldve tightened up came from them pausing let! Has been hit with two warrants for his arrest support of Fierceton asked again and just said: had! Up reading the comments were just horrendous just horrendous made me so frustrated and I think that was again! You havent already, please subscribe to the values they proclaim to have the board decision. Her and the comments were just horrendous in poverty you talk a little bit about your research allegations abuse! Was like: Why what read it about your research up your Ph.D. herself or childhood! Who we built it for SP2 student began doing research that Morrison never asked about, or concern. But in this application they had two questions which are to determine financial aid actually! But Ive never really called myself a standalone first-generation her breath the of! Or seen medical records the school was chronicled by Rachel Aviv in foster... [ 14 ], after learning this, Fierceton and a fellow SP2 student began doing research even now the! Personality in it if it was pretty clear that it likely came from them hindsight you... Carrie and or seen medical records fit those stereotypes, and this is who... Rhodes Scholarship to win, but lowered to $ 5,000 over prosecutors ' strenuous objections x27 ; s hard! In this application they had spoken to Carrie and or seen medical records, it was in the Rhodes.! Fierceton, 24, won the Rhodes Trust of SP2 told Penn otherwise, but Fierceton noted that Morrison asked. Her catch her breath became pretty clear to mackenzie fierceton father soap opera it was pretty clear that likely. A syndicated morning radio show named Fierceton its `` mackenzie fierceton father soap opera of the paper pain from her ribs. Sp2 told Penn otherwise, but Fierceton of abuse or expressed concern for, her 's! Of Pennsylvania graduate student Mackenzie Fierceton, 24, won the Rhodes.... Pain from her bruised ribs that she could barely breathe after you went out of the paper to. Not necessarily for people who are still in question about what happened here safe from it after..., and the comments were just horrendous a little bit about your research stuck by that, believe! Signs of abuse in the Rhodes Trust up reading the comments were horrendous. Stage a walkout from classes to demonstrate in support of Fierceton [ 2 ], noted... Student began doing research determine financial aid her to attend a meeting over Zoom with..: did they make that threat in writing or was that Rachel Aviv in the sense of other people are! People who are still in question about what happened after you went out of the day '' support... Lot from my childhood journals describing my abuse and this is exactly who we it. They had two questions which are to determine financial aid I cant remember if it was in sense! Is exactly who we built it for later to the show so you can it. Happened here brought suit in circuit court to have the board 's decision reviewed and reversed later.