Scholarship For Whites Only

[lizbud]

What do you think?



BOSTON, Nov. 22, 2006 — Joe Mroszczyk, president of the College Republicans at Boston University, admits he set out to stir up a hornet's nest when he came up with the idea of offering a whites-only scholarship at the school. But he got a little more buzz than he bargained for.

"To tell you the truth, we didn't see this coming," Mroszczyk said. "The Drudge Report picked it up yesterday, and today I just finished a round of national interviews. It's kind of overwhelming."

All the media attention is focused on a $250 Caucasian Achievement and Recognition Scholarship offered by Mroszczyk and the BU chapter of the College Republicans. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher; they must write two essays; and, here's the kicker, they must be at least one-quarter Caucasian.

The application itself offers an explanation: "We believe that racial preferences in all their forms are perhaps the worst form of bigotry confronting America today."

According to Mroszczyk, his group is offering the scholarship to point out "how ridiculous it is to have any sort of racially based scholarship."

At BU, for example, students who are at least one-quarter Hispanic can apply for a National Hispanic Recognition Scholarship.

"There are plenty of poor, white, academically gifted students who need that money just as much," Mroszczyk said.

It isn't the first time a group of students has tried this kind of stunt.

Two years ago a chapter of the College Republicans at Roger Williams University also offered a $250 whites-only scholarship. That's where the BU students got the idea.

"We are not doing this as some kind of white supremacy thing. I wanted to have a dialogue about racial preference," Mroszczyk said.

It seems as if Mroszczyk has gotten his wish. People from across the country are now weighing in on the idea through e-mail and the radio. And closer to home, some BU students are having their say too.

"It's a poor way to talk about affirmative action," said David Coreas, the 21-year-old senior who is president of the Latino fraternity Phi Iota Alpha at BU. "If they want to have a scholarship, then let them have a scholarship, but they're stirring up controversy in the wrong way."

Coreas said he believes that racially based scholarships are necessary to level a very uneven academic playing field.


"We have to look at the situation honestly," he said. "Caucasians tend to have a higher per capita income than Latinos and other minorities. We have to have scholarships to survive."

Coreas said he would welcome an honest dialogue on campus about race and affirmative action.

Mroszczyk admits even some of his good friends are shaking their heads.

"They said I can't believe you're doing this," he said.

But for all the talk, there are still no takers for the scholarship. The application has been available online since Nov. 7, and so far not one student has filled it out.

That's money wasted, according to David Coreas.
"I wish I could apply: That $250 could help me pay for my textbooks," he said.

Coreas isn't eligible, though.

But for BU students who have a pretty good GPA and can write a couple of essays, there's still time, as long as they're also 25 percent Caucasian. The deadline for applications is Nov. 30.

[sirrahved]

It's about time. DH and I always joke that we'd like to start a National Association for the Advancement of Caucasian People.

[Sevaede]

It's no different from the UNCF, I suppose.

[Miss Z]

I know this is a little off topic (sorry), but I'm a bit confused about how a scholarship is defined here. I have a scholarship, and I won it by gaining the highest marks in the entrance exam of my school.

The application has been available online since Nov. 7, and so far not one student has filled it out.

That bit threw me a little, if you apply for it, then isn't that a bursary, technically not a scholarship? Perhaps I am just not reading it right

Personally though, I don't see why we have to differentiate anything based on who we are, we're all people and have as much right to anything no matter what we look like.

[Vela]

Well I think it's about time. People always seem to get up in arms about things like that, but they have all sorts of programs and scholarships for most others, it's only fair that all are allowed to have programs like that, or none. To me it's all or nothing. There are LOTS of poor white students and families who need programs as much as any others. I always found that rather idiotic that people get so upset about a white person doing it, but it's fine for others to do it, and they have no problem with that. I find thier reasoning quite plausible and I find a progam like that no different than the United Negro College Fund or National Hispanic Recognition Scholarship, so there is no reason not to have one if that's what they choose to do.

I also find it rather silly, on the whole, to offer scholarships or assistance based on race, it should be based on need and/or the performance of the individual, not what color they are or aren't.

[king2005]

I hope this stirs up enough BS to put an end to those stupid race only Scholarships!! I have always detested them & anything else that says, "this race or type of people only"!!

Thats why I'm all for The Gay Pride Parade, anyone can go to it & have fun. I'm not gay & I'm going with Chad & Andrew (whenever the next one is, I kinda forget the date)


When I found out that there are still Black only schools in the USA, I was shocked!! Those types of schools should be banned! (goes for any race only type schools!).

Its places & things like this that keep racisim alive.

[areias]

It's about time someone did something like this! When I was applying for scholarships, I would find the hispanic ones that are like..if you write an essay on your family heritage you get $___ amount scholarship..I could write an essay like that! But because I'm not hispanic I don't get a chance?

Good for him.

[dukedogsmom]

I agree. It's about time.

[Karen]

When I found out that there are still Black only schools in the USA, I was shocked!! Those types of schools should be banned! (goes for any race only type schools!).

There are historically black colleges, but I do not know of any that would deny someone because of skin tone (or lack thereof!)

[CathyBogart]

I agree with the general tone of the thread, it's about time!!

(Side note - When I was in HS we started a gay-straight alliance, the principal tried to decline permission saying that he wouldn't allow racially biased clubs on campus....then he had to stick his foot i his mouth when it was pointed out ot him that there was an African-american club, a persian club, a korean club, and a hispanic club on campus...all of whichhe HAD approved! LoL...)

[JenBKR]

I agree with the others, it's about time! My scholarships for college were so wonderful to have, but since I am white I didn't get nearly as much as my SIL, who is 1/8 Native American, and my grades in high school were much higher.

I know this is a little off topic (sorry), but I'm a bit confused about how a scholarship is defined here. I have a scholarship, and I won it by gaining the highest marks in the entrance exam of my school.

That bit threw me a little, if you apply for it, then isn't that a bursary, technically not a scholarship? Perhaps I am just not reading it right

What is a bursary? Maybe things are done different here.....most, if not all, scholarships have to be applied for. You usually have to send in an essay also (well not always, but sometimes).

[Twisterdog]

Yes, of course it's wrong, racist and exclusionary.

Just like scholarships exclusively for Hispanic, African-Americans, etc. is wrong. ANY form of prejucdice is wrong.

Would the Society of White Engineers be wrong? You bet. Just like the Society of Black Engineers is wrong now.

But here is something that is doubly wrong ... if an African American wants to join a fraternity or a business association, he is free to join ANY one he wants to. There is no such thing as a "white only" group ... that would be illegal and would bring about a thousand lawsuits. As it should be. But if a Caucasian person wants to join a "black" fraternity or the a "black" business association, he is not allowed to. That is wrong.

I despise ANY distinction made for race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. They are ALL wrong they should ALL be stopped.

As a business owner and a former manager at a large company, I can tell you that from all I have seen, companies don't care one bit about the race, gender, etc. of the person they are hiring. They want to hire the smartest, best, most qualified person so the company has an edge over the competitors and makes a bigger profit. The managers want their employees to excel, their department to excel, and their company to excel. They also want the fat bonus that comes from such! If you are the best person for the job, you will get it, no matter what your race or sexual orientation. Managers that don't hire based on these factors don't stay employed as managers very long, because their department or company won't perform as well as it could.

What is very unfair and a hinderance to business in this country in a big way are the regulations that say, for example, (and I'm making this up completely, I can't remember the actual numbers now), "For every 10 employees you hire, 3 must be African American." Well, in some parts of the country, it is practically impossible to find 3 qualified African Americans in a recruiting pool. Not because they are somehow inferior, that's ridiculous, but simply because not many African Americans happen to live in Montana or Wyoming! So what happens? The manager ends up hiring the first African American to apply for the job, because he has to, whether that person is the best qualified person or not. This hurts the performance of the department, the company, and the person hired, because it's terribly disheartening to attempt to do a job every day that you are not qualified for or capable of. There was a joke among Human Resource people in my field that if an African American woman using a wheelchair ever applied for an engineering job, they would offer her a million dollars a year to start, because she would fill three "minority" posting at once, in a profession that is traditionally hard-pressed to meet its quotas.

(Sheesh, what a long, semi-off-topic post this turned into. Sorrry!)

[mugsy]

Here! Here! Affirmative Action is neither Affirmative, nor Action and it has definitely run its course. It angers me more than you can know that because I'm white and my husband is white, he cannot get grants and such because of the color of his skin and his gender....how ridiculous is that? When he got out of high school, he had to join the military in order to get money for school because he is a white male, no grant money was available to him. I don't know about anyone else, but, for me, I want to know that I am awarded a scholarship or job or whatever else based on my merits, not my skin color, race, religion, or sexual preference.

[pitc9]

About Time!!!!!!

[Pam]

Anything that has the words *white or caucasian* or *black* or *hispanic* or *green with stripes* is just plain wrong. I was surprised and disheartened when the Miss Black America pageant began as I knew it would be divisive just by the *exclusion factor* and would fuel racism. When will people learn?