Let’s admit it, we’ve all heard about the embarrassment that went down during the Miss Universe 2015 pageant one month ago. The usually comedic Steve Harvey misread his cue card and announced that Miss Colombia was the new Miss Universe, when actually, his cue card said Miss Colombia was the “first runner up.”
Miss Colombia held back her emotions as the crown was taken off her head and placed onto Miss Philippines, the true winner of the pageant. But even when the mistake was admitted, Miss Philippines was robbed from her victory as a roar of boos could be heard from the audience.
I’ve never seen Harvey so embarrassed in all of the Family Feud episodes I’ve seen.
York had it’s own Miss Universe moment when the university accidentally sent out around 500 acceptance emails to hopeful applicants, when really, these applicants were supposed to receive emails acknowledging that York had received their application.
And just like the Harvey mistake, this went viral.
At this stage of my university career, I’ve heard it all. These 500 unlucky individuals got “York’d” even before entering York, but not to worry, “if you can hold a fork, you can go to York.”
Yes, York is the third most populated university in Canada, and yes, York accepts a lot of students every year. York received around 26,000 applications for the Fall 2016 semester.
But what if one of those 500 applicants receives a rejection letter from York in the next couple of weeks? Some programs at York have admission cut-offs that are higher than other universities offering the same program, so just being able to “hold a fork” won’t get you in.
Marks aside, being able to attend university is a big deal to some families. For some, this may be the first time a family member has had the opportunity to receive a post-secondary education.
Just like Miss Philippines, those 500 applicants that may receive real acceptance letters in the coming weeks will not feel the same sense of accomplishment as they did when their first “acceptance” email arrived. Some may wait to receive the physical acceptance letter in the mail. Some may decide to call York to confirm their acceptance. Even then, there may be some psychological paranoia that York will once again take back their acceptance for whatever reason.
It may not be until those 500 applicants start their first day at York that they erase any withdrawal paranoia. That is, if those 500 applicants even choose to go to York.
This isn’t York’s first mishap in this school year either. In September, an advertisement proclaiming “This is Enginering” also caught media attention and made a joke out of York and the Lassonde School of Engineering.
But like I said during “This is Enginering,” mistakes happen. York acknowledged their mistake then and acknowledges their mistake now. There is nothing York can really do about the situation other than apologize to the 1.9 per cent who received the email.
I’ve definitely seen York more embarrassed in all of my four years at this university.
Jenny Mao, Copy Editor
