Posted by
Joe Voter on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 9:13:08 PM
The college Republicans at Boston University are giving out a scholarship based on race. Scholarships based on race is nothing new. Colleges do it all the time, governments do it all the time, and employers show racial preference all the time. However, what is controversial about this scholarship is that the race is Caucasian. The scholarship is only a $250 scholarship and whoever wins it must be at least 25% white, have a 3.2GPA, and must write two short essays. The first question asks applicants to describe their ancestry and the other, what it means to be a Caucasian-American today.
The purpose of this scholarship is to raise an open and healthy debate on racial preferences and affirmitive action. Once I posted the first blog on this subject, I received the following comment:
Scholarships should not be based on need, but solely on merit. Why shouldn't rich white kids get some breaks? Haven't they got it hard enough, having to deal with all that inheritance paperwork? I think whoever is already doing the best in school should get the monetary awards, even if they did best because they didn't have to take jobs to support themselves and they could afford private tutors.
Am I being too snarky here?
Incidentally, EVERY month is White History Month." |
I wanted to update my readers on the story and the debate. But I also wanted to respond to piker62's comment.
1) No one stated that scholarships should be based on solely merit. The college group stated that scholarships should not be based solely on race. Need and merit are the only things that scholarships should be based on.
2) Piker62's second sentence "Why shouldn't rich white kids get some breaks?....inheritance paperwork? This is highly sterotypical. We shouldn't assume that all white kids are rich and get inheritance. Heck, I know that isn't true. Haven't you ever been to NC? Poverty doesn't know race, it only knows people. Not all whites are rich and not all blacks are poor. Just look at Oprah.
3) The third comment was referring to people who work and go to school. I take offense to that comment because I worked and went to school. And guess what my grades where fine. I grew up poor (I still am somewhat poor) and I never needed or had a private tutor. So just because someone works doesn't mean that will effect their grades. I'd rather see students stay busy working than out partying too much and drinking.
4) Piker62's last comment every month is White History Month is just plain wrong and racist. I would say that no month is a history month. There is no America History Month. Forget white, black, purple, or red. Kids and adults don't know American History. I didn't learn about Vietnam and our experience their in school. Our teacher glazed over that. I had to read. I enjoying reading history. I believe history is history and it should all be studied and learned from.
See even the thought or debate about race invokes people's emotions. And the one thing that I learned is that emotional people don't think straight. We need to understand that we are all Americans and that the only race out there is the human race. So thanks for the comment.
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