The Davenport College first year was removed from Lanman-Wright Hall on Old Campus last week.
Owen Tilman
Editor-in-Chief, The Buckley Beacon
One week ago, Yale University rescinded the admission of a freshman in Davenport College after it was discovered that they had “misrepresented themselves” in their undergraduate application. It is unclear whether the student falsified their name, age, home state, or other identifying information.
“Yale receives thousands of admissions applications each year and the process relies on the honesty of the applicants and the accuracy of the information that is provided,” a spokesperson for the university’s Office of Public Affairs and Communications told The Buckley Beacon in an email. “When it came to the university’s attention that a student misrepresented themselves in their application, the university rescinded their admission as outlined in admission’s policies. Yale will not be sharing additional details.”
The same spokesperson declined to comment on how the student had been financing their education in Yale College.
This is the second instance of an unverified undergraduate student gaining entry to Yale’s facilities this year. In May, the Yale Daily News reported that a girl posing as an admitted student stayed in Saybrook College for at least two nights during Bulldog Days, Yale’s annual three-day event for admitted undergraduate students. It was later discovered that the girl had previously been admitted to Yale College, and her application was rescinded prior to Bulldog Days.
On Monday, the YDN was the first to report on the recent removal of the first year from Old Campus’ Lanman-Wright Hall, which currently houses Davenport’s class of 2029. According to the YDN, the expelled student’s name, Katherina Lynn, appeared in an email from Dean of Davenport College Adam Ployd to Lynn’s suitemates. The article also included the superfluous accusation that Lynn had engaged in romantic or sexual partnerships with older gentlemen.
The Beacon has not independently confirmed the accusation, and university spokespeople have not commented on the matter.
In 2019, Yale rescinded the application of a student whose parents paid $1.2 million to fabricate the student’s athletic admissions profile, including to secure a fraudulent endorsement from the university’s women’s soccer coach, as part of an orchestrated college admissions scandal across multiple universities known as “Varsity Blues.” Shortly after, then-Yale University President Peter Salovey announced new guidelines for the recruitment of student athletes, such as “second, higher-level verification of the athletic credentials of recruited student-athletes before that information is shared with the admissions office.”
Incumbent Yale University President Maurie McInnis has not issued a public statement on Lynn’s removal from campus.