Saturday, April 27, 2013

An Education That Money (or a Gun) Can’t Buy

Don Corleone he is not.

The 37% mark on his masters dissertation should have been sufficient evidence that Li Yang isn’t the brightest light in his family. However, the 26 year old son of an affluent mainland Chinese official (unnamed) who is studying at the University of Bath wanted to drive the point home. “I am a businessman,” he proclaimed to his professor in a private meeting to discuss his score. He then placed GBP 5,000 on the his teacher’s desk. “You can keep the money if you give me a pass mark and I won’t bother you again.” The shocked professor dutifully shooed the guileless lad out of his office. As Li was packing to leave, an air gun loaded with six 22-caliber pellets fell from his coat pocket. Thankfully, the episode ended without further drama. There was no Godfather moment about “an offer he don’t refuse”. Instead, the police were called in. Earlier this week, Li was sentenced to a fine and a year behind bars.
 
It turns out that Li was not a completely bad apple. He reportedly was a student who had earnestly tried to study while working for his father’s company. The pellet gun was simply a hobby – he enjoyed target practice. And he plead guilty to the criminal charges and showed remorse in the courtroom. Nevertheless, his bluster and sense of entitlement can’t help but cause eyes to roll. More money than sense. At times, it seems that no amount of education can overcome that.     
 

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