Grant Reportedly Admitted to Tufts

Gina Grant, whose admission to Harvard was rescinded after she allegedly lied to her alumni interviewer about her role in killing her mother, has been admitted to Tufts University, according to reports in the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald yesterday.

Tufts officials refused to comment yesterday on reports the Cambridge Rindge and Latin senior had been admitted to the university, citing confidentiality concerns.

"I can't comment any further because of reasons of privacy and confidentiality on the admissions process," said Rosmarie Van Camp, a university spokesperson.

Van Camp read a prepared statement from Tufts Dean of Admissions David Cuttino to the Globe on Wednesday.

"As a society, the bigger question we all must ask ourselves is what responsibility do we have to help shape any young person's life for the better?" Cuttino wrote.

A source in the Tufts admissions office told the Globe Wednesday that Grant had been accepted but had not yet indicated whether or not she would attend.

Members of Harvard's Faculty Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid said last month the college decided to rescind Grant's admission after her alumni interviewer reported that she told him her mother died in an automobile accident. Grant's father had died years earlier.

"The interviewer was interested in the orphan angle and had asked how her mother died, and her response was that she had died in an auto accident," said one committee member who asked to remain anonymous.

Grant pleaded no contest in 1991 to the killing of her mother, Dorothy Mayfield, in Lexington, South Carolina.

Grant, who was 14 at the time, was sentenced to six months in a girls juvenile detention school and then allowed by the judge who tried her case to make a fresh start by moving to Cambridge to live with an aunt and uncle.

Mayfield's brother Curtis R. Dickson, who has defended Grant's right to keep the killing of her mother private, said yesterday that reports that Grant would attend Tufts were "just a rumor."

Dickson, who had sharply criticized Harvard's decision, said he did not understand why the news media cared about Grant's "rumored" acceptance.

"I don't know if she had [an acceptance letter or not," he said. "But whether or not she is going to attend, that's just a rumor."

When told that media had been interviewing Tufts students for their reactions, he asked: "What do they care?"

Media coverage of Grant's case has played a major role determining her fate. An anonymous package of newspaper clippings of her 1991 trial was delivered by a courier service to Harvard inlate March.

Although Grant was tried as a juvenile and herrecord is therefore permanently sealed, LexingtonCo. Family Court Judge Marc Westbrook opened hiscourtroom to the press because of the seriousnessof Grant's crime.

Harvard's decision to rescind Grant's admissionhas been harshly debated in the national media; itwas the subject of a feature on "Nightline,"National Public Radio and national news networks.

Critics, including Grant's lawyer MargaretBurnham, have said Harvard acted improperly injudging Grant on past action that was neverintended to be made public.

Tufts was the subject of a second wave of mediainterest in Grant's case, according to John B.O'Keefe, the news editor at the student newspaperthe Tufts Daily.

O'Keefe said yesterday he saw crews fromchannels four, five and seven interviewingstudents about their reactions to the university'sreported decision to admit Grant.

"They were here at noon grabbing students forcomment," O'Keefe said. Most people [I saw] had asimilar reaction that they didn't like whatHarvard did and had no problem with [Tuft'sdecision]."

O'Keefe said that news of Grant's admission hadspread quickly across campus, where finals areabout to conclude the semester.

Lexington Country Sheriff James R. Metts saidyesterday he was disappointed that the criminaljustice system had allowed Grant to serve just sixmonths.

"As I said originally, had Gina been dealt withas she should have been this would be a mootpoint, but since the system did not deal with heras she should have she has certainly paid her justdesserts [and should be admitted to college]unless she commits another crime," Metts said

Although Grant was tried as a juvenile and herrecord is therefore permanently sealed, LexingtonCo. Family Court Judge Marc Westbrook opened hiscourtroom to the press because of the seriousnessof Grant's crime.

Harvard's decision to rescind Grant's admissionhas been harshly debated in the national media; itwas the subject of a feature on "Nightline,"National Public Radio and national news networks.

Critics, including Grant's lawyer MargaretBurnham, have said Harvard acted improperly injudging Grant on past action that was neverintended to be made public.

Tufts was the subject of a second wave of mediainterest in Grant's case, according to John B.O'Keefe, the news editor at the student newspaperthe Tufts Daily.

O'Keefe said yesterday he saw crews fromchannels four, five and seven interviewingstudents about their reactions to the university'sreported decision to admit Grant.

"They were here at noon grabbing students forcomment," O'Keefe said. Most people [I saw] had asimilar reaction that they didn't like whatHarvard did and had no problem with [Tuft'sdecision]."

O'Keefe said that news of Grant's admission hadspread quickly across campus, where finals areabout to conclude the semester.

Lexington Country Sheriff James R. Metts saidyesterday he was disappointed that the criminaljustice system had allowed Grant to serve just sixmonths.

"As I said originally, had Gina been dealt withas she should have been this would be a mootpoint, but since the system did not deal with heras she should have she has certainly paid her justdesserts [and should be admitted to college]unless she commits another crime," Metts said