Group Offers Scholarships for White Males

[knight_shadow]

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Only white men with at least a 3.0 grade-point average need apply for a new scholarship being offered by a new nonprofit group started by an Iraq war veteran.

Colby Bohannon started Former Majority Association for Equality after he returned from the Iraq war and decided to go to school. Bohannon said he had trouble finding college scholarships for white males like himself. He found plenty of programs that give money to women and minorities, he said.

"I felt excluded," Bohannon, a student at Texas State University, told The Austin American-Statesman . "If everyone else can find scholarships, why are we left out?"

link

What say you, GC?

[AOII Angel]

LOLZ, we are so discriminated against. $500 scholarships will solve all our problems.

[PiKA2001]

Meh, I don't find this to be as controversial as the media seems to want to make it. If someone is going to put up private money to give scholarships to whities, lefties, or people born with red hair let them. Now if they were diverting public/private money from a minority group to fund this, then I'd understand if people got tiffed.

[Always AlphaGam]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

link

What say you, GC?

I have no problem with it. If Mr. Bohannon wants to start a group to help white males go to college, then good for him. I don't see it being any different than the groups who offer scholarships for women and minorities.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Always AlphaGam

I have no problem with it. If Mr. Bohannon wants to start a group to help white males go to college, then good for him. I don't see it being any different than the groups who offer scholarships for women and minorities.

Ditto.

[Munchkin03]

Manufactured controversy.

You can give a scholarship to anyone for any reason. There are ethnicity (not just minority-based!) scholarships, sports, etc.

[AnotherKD]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Ditto.

Thirding this.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by Always AlphaGam

I have no problem with it. If Mr. Bohannon wants to start a group to help white males go to college, then good for him. I don't see it being any different than the groups who offer scholarships for women and minorities.

First and foremost, I don't agree with any scholarships that aren't based in financial need FIRST.

Second, it IS different than scholarships for women and minorities because of institutional sexism and racism which we still have not "overcome" in this country, as evidenced by salary disparities among men and women, and among whites and minorities. Race-based scholarships and gender-based scholarships were established to level the playing field -- not to stick it to the man.

THIS scholarship was established in racism. You don't have to have a problem with it for it to still be problematic.

[lucgreek]

The more scholarships the better. It's money some kid doesn't have to pay back once they graduate. Less reliance on loans is alright by me.

On a completely semi-off topic side note: At Loyola, there is a scholarship ($500) for anyone who has the last name Zolp. It doesn't matter if you're related to whomever the benefactor is, it just matters you have Zolp for a last name. I was always mad I could never get that.

[Kevin]

So the scholarship might (if it exists after this year) pay out a grand total of $2,500 per year?

This is a national news story?

[GeorgiaGreek]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

First and foremost, I don't agree with any scholarships that aren't based in financial need FIRST.

I disagree with any scholarships that are based on something other than scholastic achievement first. While it is important to help those who cannot afford it to get through school, is it not necessary to support those individuals who are high achievers not matter what their background?

Take the National Merit Scholarship. You have to score in the top 1 percent of high school seniors in your state to get the scholarship. And yet the scholarship amounts given for two of the main public institutions in Georgia are $500 and $750 a year. On the scale of total tuition and housing costs, that is NOTHING. That is books for the year, maybe not even the entire cost of them. So students who have demonstrated potential for achievement, even though they may be able to afford the cost, get rewarded very little for it.

I'm not saying that need-based scholarships aren't important or necessary, but there are very few scholarships for those who JUST earn it and don't necessarily REQUIRE it to get through school. That's doesn't seem right to me.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Kevin

So the scholarship might (if it exists after this year) pay out a grand total of $2,500 per year?

This is a national news story?

This is a Texas news story, as it is being offered at Texas State University.

That doesn't mean I'm not interested in hearing others' thoughts.

[agzg]

I guess I don't get why it's so super necessary - there are a lot of scholarships out there that aren't based on gender or race. You just need to do your research.

ETA: I got over $30,000 in scholarships for my four years at undergrad (private school - I still walked out with almost $15K in loans), and I don't remember a single one of them being based on my gender.

[Gusteau]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Second, it IS different than scholarships for women and minorities because of institutional sexism and racism which we still have not "overcome" in this country, as evidenced by salary disparities among men and women, and among whites and minorities. Race-based scholarships and gender-based scholarships were established to level the playing field -- not to stick it to the man.

I agree with this, and understand the reasoning behind it. However, I also believe that privately funded scholarships should be awarded to whomever is deemed deserving by the donor, regardless of motive or bias.

And FWIW, the scholarships I would really support, need or achievement based, are color and gender blind.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by agzg

I guess I don't get why it's so super necessary - there are a lot of scholarships out there that aren't based on gender or race. You just need to do your research.

Not to mention the GI Bill.