"I turned down a doctoral fellowship at a school that wanted me to attend a summer program for new minority grad students."
You are such a credit to your race! (That's sarcasm!)
Really, how insulting of a university to single you out because of your heritage. I've always said that Affirmative Action demeans and belittles the very people it purports to help. Good for you for rejecting their patronizing attitude and for telling them WHY!
I haven't heard that 'credit to your race' thing for a long time. We must be around the same age. : )
Affirmative Action is a double-edged sword. Minorities should think twice before they go into any program that marks them, from the outset, as something other than anyone else in the classroom or job site.
My college roommate was a black woman, a top student in chemistry, with a perfectly normal name (Joy Carole), but when she applied to Harvard, they treated her like she came from Zimbabwe. "Dear Third World Student, To help you determine whether the Harvard environment is consistent with your native culture, we are inviting you to a special Third World Weekend."
She was PISSED! My response was, "Look, Joy, they noticed you're from Houston!" (private joke ...) She went to UC-San Francisco, full scholarship, only out of state medical student they accepted that year.