'Whites-only' scholarship divides US

Electronic Telegraph ^ | 21/02/2004 | Marcus Warren

[Map Kernow]

A "whites-only" scholarship set up as a prank by Republican students at an obscure New England university has ballooned into a cause célèbre, with basic American themes such as race, equal opportunity and freedom colliding.

"Why shouldn't I do anything in my power to put myself in the best position possible?" asked Adam Noska, 20, after winning the £130 award at Roger Williams University in New England. "I'm a college student. I live in a house with rats."

He had a point. But Mr Noska and his friends had also challenged one of the orthodoxies of today's United States: that everyone except the white majority is entitled to a hand up in life.

And they did so on the culture war's main battlefield, the university campus.

The application form for the scholarship deftly parodied the language of similar documents for black, Hispanic or American Indian students seeking financial help for their education.

"In 100 words or less, write why you are proud of your white heritage and explain what being white means to you," it read.

"Must attach recent picture to confirm whiteness. Evidence of bleaching will disqualify applicants."

It soon emerged that the student who devised the protest against the prevailing culture of affirmative action was one of its beneficiaries, to the amusement of the stunt's critics.

Jason Mattera, who founded the College Republicans two years ago, is the recipient of a £2,600 bursary for Hispanic students. It gave him "an inherent advantage over my white peers", he said.

His "whites-only" scholarship idea attracted so much support, some of it financial, that its value, originally a modest £26, was soon five times bigger.

But it riled many of the 3,000 students on the campus and earned a rebuke from the local Rhode Island state Republican Party for its "racist overtones".

The students "have just ignored history and turned blatantly, defiantly dumb", complained a columnist for a local newspaper. "They taken higher education and brought it low."

Across America, talk show hosts and newspaper columnists went into a frenzy of agonising over the rights and wrongs of favouring ethnic minorities or, alternatively, the theme of young people today and their shameful ingratitude.

Its timing to coincide with Black History Month, when schools, academia and the press reflect on African-Americans, only made the debate more piquant.

At the same time, the joke also reflected a shift in the political mood of young Americans both on and off campus. The era when students were, almost by definition, Left-leaning liberals is over.

Now, according to the latest surveys, there are almost as many conservative as liberal students in higher education, a far cry from 30 years ago when they were outnumbered almost three to one.

[Map Kernow]

These days, what's sauce for the goose, is only sauce for the "pander."

[goldstategop]

Liberals believe race matters if you have the right skin color.

[MegaSilver]

My friends in Europe (even the liberal socialists) seem to think minority bonus affirmative action is pretty senseless and only encourages schism between races.

[per loin]

Whites-only' scholarship divides US

The author has that correct. No matter where I go lately, I notice that some people will be on one side of me and some on the other. It's a very strange phenomena, and I've been thinking that i ought to report it to the authorities.

[Map Kernow]

Liberals believe race matters if you have the right skin color.

Or, in the alternative, they believe race "doesn't exist," until of course the time comes to hand out "affirmative action" goodies.

[Map Kernow]

My friends in Europe (even the liberal socialists) seem to think minority bonus affirmative action is pretty senseless and only encourages schism between races.

Brings out the "divisiveness" in "diversity," doesn't it?

[Howlin]

But it riled many of the 3,000 students on the campus

But many of them supported it.

[MegaSilver]

Brings out the "divisiveness" in "diversity," doesn't it?

Personally, I would blame affirmative action and welfare for a great deal of the failure of the Civil Rights Movement/Amendment to actually promote recognition of African-Americans as true equals to Euro-Americans.

[MissAmericanPie]

There is no greater way to learn to despise socialism than to experience it first hand from grade 1 to 12. The good thing about it is that it teaches young people of all races to band together to defeat it and hold it up to public ridicule for the sham it is.

[WHBates]

LOL

[M0sby]

oh... I absolutely LOVE this! I have read about it many times and hope to how it all unfolds!
I work at a high school and we have all this celebrate diversity EVERYTHING! You should have seen the cheers and TEARS from the student body when, after September 11th, we had an assembly to celebrate UNITY!!!IT WAS POWERFUL!!!

[ckilmer]

the justification for the race based policies of the last 40 years looks increasing like the justifcations for the sale of indulgences that set off the reformation.

[The American Man]

Oh..."racest overtones." (Homer Simson)

[Map Kernow]

Oh..."racest overtones."

They just do the "racest" things these days, don't they?

[BykrBayb]

This sounds just like a story I read a few days ago, except in the other story the scholarship was to be awarded in dollars, not pounds.

[longtermmemmory]

I heard on hanity that the scholarship was now up to a real money amount. Something like $2000.00.


They should copy the UNCF application.

[codyjacksmom]

It is really sad to know my daughters won't have as many opportunities for scholarships as some other kids, just because they are white. Even when I was younger I would question why there was a "Miss Black America", yet there was no "Miss White America". Our children of today are paying for what happened 200 years ago with slavery. They didn't do it. Why are they being punished? It really pisses me off. I have friends of many races. That isn't what makes them my friends, it's who they are that is important. What's happening to our children of today is they are being singled out and not being treated the same because of their skin color (white). To me, this IS reverse discrimination. They are on the receiving end of racism!

[Jotmo]

Now, according to the latest surveys, there are almost as many conservative as liberal students in higher education, a far cry from 30 years ago when they were outnumbered almost three to one.

More evidence of the "Roe Effect". I'm fast becoming a true believer in it and that, ironic, it's effects may help turn our country away from the liberal/socialist suicide march we're on.

Sad but interesting to watch.

[leadpenny]

Congratulations Adam!

IIRC, applicants had to write an essay as part of their application for the scholarship.
Wonder what Adam wrote?