Legitimate Protest?

[RedVelvet]

New scholarship created for whites only

BRISTOL, Rhode Island (AP) --A student group at Roger Williams University is offering a new scholarship for which only white students are eligible, a move they say is designed to protest affirmative action.

The application for the $250 award requires an essay on "why you are proud of your white heritage" and a recent picture to "confirm whiteness."

"Evidence of bleaching will disqualify applicants," says the application, issued by the university's College Republicans.

Jason Mattera, 20, who is president of the College Republicans, said the group is parodying minority scholarships.

"We think that if you want to treat someone according to character and how well they achieve academically, then skin color shouldn't really be an option," he said. "Many people think that coming from a white background you're automatically privileged, you're automatically rich and your parents pay full tuition. That's just not the case."

The stunt has angered some at the university, but the administration is staying out of the fray. The school's provost said it is a student group's initiative and is not endorsed by Roger Williams.

Mattera, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is himself a recipient of a $5,000 scholarship open only to a minority group.

"No matter what my ethnicity is, I'm making a statement that scholarships should be given out based on merit and need," Mattera told the Providence Journal.

His group took out a full-page ad in last week's issue of the university's student newspaper to tout the scholarship, which was for $50 until two donors came forward to add $100 each during the weekend, Mattera said.

It's not the first brush with controversy for the group. The school temporarily froze the Republicans' money in the fall during a fight over a series of articles published in its monthly newsletter. One article alleged that a gay-rights group indoctrinates students into homosexual sex.


If Mr. Attera felt so strongly about "merit and need", didn't he have an ethical obligation to refuse a scholarship based solely on ethnicity?

[preciousjeni]

Indeed

[DeltAlum]

Sounds a little like this group just likes to hear itself talk. Sometimes the only way to get to do that is to say something outrageous.

Don't get me started, though, on universities and other organizations who do solely "need only" scholarships.

[moe.ron]

Originally posted by RedVelvet
[B]Mattera, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is himself a recipient of a $5,000 scholarship open only to a minority group.

Anybody else find this hypocritical?

I personally think scholarship should be based on income and family history in term higher education.

[Kevin]

It's $5000. Not everyone can afford to not take scholarships on the principle.

I think what they're doing makes a good point though.

It is counterproductive to say that you want to have a level playing field for people of all colors and then divide them up by skin color in order to award advantages.

Would make more sense to base scholarships on things like socioeconomic status, etc.

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Don't get me started, though, on universities and other organizations who do solely "need only" scholarships.

Financial need is universal--regardless of race, ethnicity or parental educational level, anyone could have some sort of financial need. Besides, at the elite college level, most can't afford to give scholarships to all of the top students--considering that all accepted applicants are the cream of the crop, and aren't even accepted on a numerical methodology. Exactly what would be the criteria? Where would you draw the line? You can't--so financial need is a better way.

If Mattero was so gung-ho against minority scholarships, why doesn't he give up his? Either put up or shut up, kid. I'm sure the conservatives who gave that $200 will be more than happy to fund his education...

[DeltAlum]

Someone said this guy majored in Hyprocracy with a minor in Irony.

[G8Ralphaxi]

The whole college financial aid system is completely FUBAR'ed. I had a friend whose mom was a doctor and dad was an attorney (might have been the other way around?) and she got a lot of scholarships, based on her ethnic background. In her case, it's not really such a bad thing - she was brilliant and worked hard, and ended up going to Harvard. Harvard's tuition is expensive for almost everyone - even doctors and attorneys.

But at the lower levels of tuition - the mid-priced private schools and state schools, the discrepancies can be a little nuts. My parents are both school teachers - we are NOT rich. But my parents are good at budgeting, they own their home (never moved since mid 1970s), and they have carefully saved little by little for their retirement. So when I applied for college, the schools all looked at me and thought "Both of her parents have jobs, they own the home, and there is money in the bank." I didn't qualify for any meaningful financial aid (EX: Vandy's tuition was about $28K, they offered me an $8K package of a little grant and mostly loans, and expected my parents to write a check for $20K every year).

My junior year roommate grew up in a VERY ritzy town along the coast of Florida. Her high school was an exclusive private academy - the tuition cost way more than UF's did. But her dad owned his own business, and the family had "no assets" because almost everything was tied up in the business. She qualified for a freakin' PELL GRANT!!! She was completely naive about it - she just remarked one day, "oh I've got to take my paperwork in for my peel scholarship." I was like "what the heck is a peel scholarship?" And she's like "Peel, or maybe Pell? I don't know, dad's accountant filled out the form for me." She showed me the paper and I was like ! I told her, "This is a Pell Grant! You're supposed to be really poor to get it! I don't qualify for it!" She called her dad and told him she didn't think it was right, that she felt like she was stealing from poor people, etc. He didn't care and told her to turn in that form, some crap about how the government taxed him too much so he was going to take back what he could. Attitudes like that just make me sad.