high school girl doesn't get to be valedictorian

[tld221]

Originally Posted by AOIIBrandi

I would think with her GPA and possibly her socio-economic background (I don't know what it is) she will end up getting a free ride either way.

So "ethnic name" = "minority-based scholarships?"

i disagree with Sen. I think she should totally fight it. There are thousands of kids who are finishing HS in less than 4 years, by taking an extra class here and there, and some schools let AP classes replace certain requirements. A valedictorian being able to earn that title on the basis of 4 years. It's almost like the school board is implying that if the student HAD taken all of her courses over 4 years, she wouldnt have such a high GPA.

I think this is reflective of the academic culture before all of this. I dont think she should just "get over it." There must be something personal going on. And is this common, valedictorians getting a full ride just because they were #1? Or is this Texas-specific?

[AOIIBrandi]

Originally Posted by tld221

So "ethnic name" = "minority-based scholarships?"

Absolutely not. Why does it always have to jump to race? I was trying to say I do not know her cultural, religious, economic... background. All I know is her GPA (I didn't even really pay attention to her name - would have guessed she was of middle eastern discent). But we all know that there are scholarships made available to people for things other than grades, or in conjunction with them. It could be a scholarship through her church, cultural heritage, an organization she or her parents belong to, her parents income... This is why I said I didn't know what it was, nor do I really care.

From her grades she seems to be an extremely smart girl. It sucks that she will not get to be valedictorian (I do think they should try to fight it), but I think she will be all right either way as far as funding college.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by AOIIBrandi

Absolutely not. Why does it always have to jump to race? I was trying to say I do not know her cultural, religious, economic... background. All I know is her GPA (I didn't even really pay attention to her name - would have guessed she was of middle eastern discent). But we all know that there are scholarships made available to people for things other than grades, or in conjunction with them. It could be a scholarship through her church, cultural heritage, an organization she or her parents belong to, her parents income... This is why I said I didn't know what it was, nor do I really care.

From her grades she seems to be an extremely smart girl. It sucks that she will not get to be valedictorian (I do think they should try to fight it), but I think she will be all right either way as far as funding college.

OK fair enough. History convinces me that when it comes to debates of education, here's bound to be a race element. In this story no one is even going to think about mentioning it, but in my mind, its there.

I just find it hard to believe that the school never thought about this scenario. And while this student may get a boatload of other scholarships for her accolades, the sheer fact that being named the best is being denied to her--that alone to me has potential to have racial undertone, or even sexist. It could totally not, of course.

[Rudey]

She should have transferred into the school, taken one class, aced it, and then said she was valedictorian. You guys are retarded.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Like B said in her original post, if the guy who was given the honor and didn't deserve it would man up and say she's the one who should get it, there wouldn't be an issue. But I guess that's a rather quaint concept nowadays.

Nah. I imagine that the current salutatorian would then become the valdictorian.

I think it's silly to call this racist or anything else. It's a validly-adopted policy that had a reasonable basis. If that policy doesn't contravene state law, then the state doesn't have any legal authority to get involved. If people there think it's a bad policy, they can urge the school board to amend or repeal it.