White student returns scholarship intended for black students

[Mr Spinkles]

It will not be dependent on gender or race. But it WILL be dependent on whether or not they have two parents in their lives.

I guess I'm struggling to understand how, today, having a particular skin hue in and of itself is a serious disadvantage, comparable to coming from a single-parent family.

 

[Kathryn]

I guess I'm struggling to understand how, today, having a particular skin hue in and of itself is a serious disadvantage, comparable to coming from a single-parent family.

My point is - we're giving out the scholarship - we establish the criteria.

People give out scholarships all the time which have nothing to do with whether a student is advantaged or disadvantaged.

Though you can CHOOSE to establish a scholarship fund for students who are disadvantaged in some way, that doesn't have to be part of anyone's criteria.

If I want to start up a scholarship fund for kids in my neighborhood, I can do so, and the only criteria might be that they live in my neighborhood.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Kathryn,

It looks like virtually all of the "white" scholarships you listed are not, in fact, for white students generally, but specifically for students of Jewish, Irish, Polish, or Italian heritage. Again I would question (1) the validity of such criteria, and (2) whether this is comparable to having skin color as a criterion.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

My point is - we're giving out the scholarship - we establish the criteria.

Your point is undisputed. The question, I repeat, is whether skin color should be part of the criteria.

People give out scholarships all the time which have nothing to do with whether a student is advantaged or disadvantaged.

Though you can CHOOSE to establish a scholarship fund for students who are disadvantaged in some way, that doesn't have to be part of anyone's criteria.

If I want to start up a scholarship fund for kids in my neighborhood, I can do so, and the only criteria might be that they live in my neighborhood.

But by this logic, scholarships for white kids should be perfectly acceptable. And yet they aren't.

 

[Kathryn]

OMG look - here's a scholarship for Iranian law students!

Iranian-American Bar Association

About: The Iranian-American Bar Association, formed in 2000 in the District of Columbia, provides law students with the opportunity to obtain the IABA Scholarship. The IABA scholarship was designed to help advance law students in the Iranian-American community.

Deadline: email by MARCH 31 2012 before 11:59 PM EST

Eligibility:

Be of Iranian descent or committed to the advancement of the Iranian American community and IABA’s mission
Be enrolled in an accredited law school in the United States
In the position to accept the scholarship in the school year for which it is being awarded
Full time student
Not be receiving full funding from another organization (e.g. members of the armed services)
Award: At least $2000/ yearly

Website: IABA Scholarship | IABA

You don't even have to have a specific GPA OR be economically disadvantaged!

Uh-oh, here's a scholarship for students of Czech or Slovak descent. Now, let me tell you something - I've been to the Czech Republic several times, and to be honest, I never ONCE saw a black or hispanic person there - anywhere. I would bet that the vast majority of the recipients of this scholarship are white as rice.
Council of Higher Education Scholarship Program - Home

 

[Mr Spinkles]

"Again I would question (1) the validity of such criteria, and (2) whether this is comparable to having skin color as a criterion."

 

[Kathryn]

Your point is undisputed. The question, I repeat, is whether skin color should be part of the criteria.

But by this logic, scholarships for white kids should be perfectly acceptable. And yet they aren't.

There have been several scholarship programs for white students only.

Are they illegal? In most cases, I don't believe they have been found to be illegal. However, one case is very ironic.

At Alabama State University, a predominately black university, there was a scholarship program for white students - to add diversity to the college apparently. Black students filed a lawsuit saying they could not apply for that scholarship because they're black - and they won.

At a historically "black university."

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world!

 

[Mr Spinkles]

There have been several scholarship programs for white students only.

Are they illegal? In most cases, I don't believe they have been found to be illegal. However, one case is very ironic.

At Alabama State University, a predominately black university, there was a scholarship program for white students - to add diversity to the college apparently. Black students filed a lawsuit saying they could not apply for that scholarship because they're black - and they won.

At a historically "black university."

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world!

Right and not only is it a mad world, but it's' mad in a decidedly asymmetric way, as your example perfectly illustrates. That's all I'm saying.

 

[dust1n]

I guess I'm struggling to understand how, today, having a particular skin hue in and of itself is a serious disadvantage, comparable to coming from a single-parent family.

Really?

 

[1StDev]

If race is a social construct as many on the left claim, then how do you determine who is black and who is not? Is someone who's 1/4, 1/8 or 1/16 black still eligible for the scholarship?

Of course as a private scholarship, so they should theoretically be able to do what they want with the money. But then again if there was a "white-only" scholarship (as oppose to one for Italian-, Polish-, Irish-, Americans, put together by local charities), people would be ****** off. Heck, even the local Chinese-American association here usually awards their annual $500 scholarship to some kid who's of mixed descent to look racist.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Really?

Yes, really. Before the Civil Rights Act, there is no question that being colored in and of itself was a serious disadvantage. But since then a lot has changed. Even the ThinkProgress article Kathryn posted about the 10% over-representation of whites being awarded college scholarships recognizes that racial inequality in this case is a symptom of the real cause, which is socioeconomic. Being from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background is correlated with race. If we award scholarships based on a person's socioeconomic background, then that too will be correlated with race.

One year the prom king at my high school was a black guy. He was very popular, a great athlete and his parents owned a nice house. In my mind, if I hold every variable constant but change his skin color to white, very little changes. On the other hand, if I imagine him coming from a broken home (as some of my white friends did), I can see that being a big disadvantage.

 

[Kathryn]

Right and not only is it a mad world, but it's' mad in a decidedly asymmetric way, as your example perfectly illustrates. That's all I'm saying.

I didn't say it wasn't crazy. I just said it doesn't bother me.

 

[nnmartin]

Look. It is not against the law for scholarships to target ANY group they want as far as students go. It's not against the law for scholarship programs to be discriminatory. They can target gay students, they can target Hispanic students, they can target students from single parent homes, they can target students who have an interest in growing roses, or refurbishing cars, or WHATEVER.

are you sure about that?

could they target: ex-sexual offenders, drug addicts, homeless, alcoholics, prostitutes, racists, shoplifters?

 

[Kathryn]

If race is a social construct as many on the left claim, then how do you determine who is black and who is not? Is someone who's 1/4, 1/8 or 1/16 black still eligible for the scholarship?

Of course as a private scholarship, so they should theoretically be able to do what they want with the money. But then again if there was a "white-only" scholarship (as oppose to one for Italian-, Polish-, Irish-, Americans, put together by local charities), people would be ****** off. Heck, even the local Chinese-American association here usually awards their annual $500 scholarship to some kid who's of mixed descent to look racist.

Most of the "white only" scholarships I looked up required that a person be only 1/4 "white." - In other words, in old slave-speak - a quadroon.

Let me give you a little funny personal anecdote.

When I sat down with my daughter's high school counselor, trying to plan for college, the counselor sat back in her chair and looked at us for a few moments and then said, "How do I ask this....what color do you want to be?

My biracial daughter said, "Do I get more money if I'm black?

The counselor sat there for a moment and then said, "Possibly.'

My daughter leaned back in her chair and grinned and said, "Well, then..I'm black!"

 

[Mr Spinkles]

I think the scholarship in the OP would be improved, if instead of saying people of particular skin colors are ineligible for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award (!), the award stipulated that awardees must demonstrate potential to fulfill the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If the eligibility were stated that way, then the award could still primarily go to black students, since the advancement of blacks in society would fulfill MLK's dream. But this would not exclude whites (or hispanics, etc.) from occasionally winning the award, if they demonstrate a special interest in Dr. King or show some unique potential for advancing his dream. I wouldn't be bothered by an award which goes primarily to blacks but it's the 100% exclusion of non-blacks, period, which I find unsettling. It seems to run contrary to Dr. King's principles and it seems like a smack in the face to people like the white Freedom Riders who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan while fighting for those principles.

 

[Kathryn]

are you sure about that?

could they target: ex-sexual offenders, drug addicts, homeless, alcoholics, prostitutes, racists, shoplifters?

I don't know - you do the research and tell us.

 

[nnmartin]

Apparently there are as Kathryn showed. But I have to say that the sheer stupidity of having a scholarship based on a 'white' ethnicity is quite evident. I understand scholarships based on a status of minority or on status of being an international student. I don't see much sense in grating scholarships for the dominant ethnicity.

Why ever not?

who built the Universities in the first place?

If the general population of the country is white, then the whites should get first choice.

do you really think out in Africa they are offering scholarships to whites only?

how about out in China?

 

[Kathryn]

I think the scholarship in the OP would be improved, if instead of saying people of particular skin colors are ineligible for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award (!), the award stipulated that awardees must demonstrate potential to fulfill the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If the eligibility were stated that way, then the award could still primarily go to black students, since the advancement of blacks in society would fulfill MLK's dream. But this would not exclude whites (or hispanics, etc.) from occasionally winning the award, if they demonstrate a special interest in Dr. King or show some unique potential for advancing his dream. I wouldn't be bothered by an award which goes primarily to blacks but it's the 100% exclusion of non-blacks, period, which I find unsettling. It seems to run contrary to Dr. King's principles and it seems like a smack in the face to people like the white Freedom Riders who were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan while fighting for those principles.

Sounds like a great idea! It's really easy to set up a scholarship fund - if you want to know how, PM me and I can give you all the information. It should only cost you about $75 to set up the non profit and then you can take it from there.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Most of the "white only" scholarships I looked up required that a person be only 1/4 "white."

For clarity: do the scholarships require a person to be 1/4 "white" or 1/4 Jewish (or Irish or Czech, etc.)?

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Sounds like a great idea! It's really easy to set up a scholarship fund - if you want to know how, PM me and I can give you all the information. It should only cost you about $75 to set up the non profit and then you can take it from there.

I'm a graduate student. If I had the money to create my own scholarship I would create one for myself. Someday I hope to do something like that, though.