This past week, 277 acceptance letter emails to Colombia University Mailman School of Public Health were sent out, only to be followed up an hour later with an email explaining it had been a mistake. Officials are saying the mistake was "human error." Sending out acceptance letters on accident isn't a new thing. In 2009, the University of California sent out 28,000 acceptance emails to students who weren't actually accepted. Colombia University has apologized and says they are working to make sure this mistake is never made again.
The article was written Friday, the 17th, and it describes an event that took place on Wednesday, so it's very recent. Before reading, I honestly had no idea that colleges could accidentally send out acceptance letters. I understand human error completely, but I feel awful for the students involved. The article was most likely written to inform people like me of what can happen with acceptance letters. It really leaves a negative influence on the reader because one of the students who was interviewed is clearly in distress. This event can be related to the 2000 presidential election in Florida. On election night, Al Gore beat George W. Bush with 255 electoral votes. However, with an intense recount process and the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, George W. Bush ended up winning Florida.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/nyregion/columbia-grad-school-acceptance-letters.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
Those students must feel awful after this unfortunate incident.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine being told something so exciting and having it snatched right away from me. My heart goes out to them.
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