“Whites Only.”
Undoubtedly the single most infamous pairing of words in American history, they’ve experienced a renaissance of sorts.
The College Republicans group at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island recently awarded a scholarship available only for students who can “truthfully answer YES to the following question:
“Are you a student of non-color, Caucasian descent?”
In a parody of traditional minority-only scholarships, the application goes on to require applicants to write an essay explaining why they are proud of their white heritage, and to submit a “recent picture to confirm whiteness.”
Let the controversy begin.
In the nearly three weeks since the award was announced, the College Republicans group has been vilified from all angles.
They have received public comparisons to the KKK from the NAACP, letters of complaint from Republican National Committee leaders, and the occasional death threat from angry classmates. All of these accusations are available on the College Republican’s website (www.rwucr.com)
And with good reason!
After all, it’s ridiculous to use something as inconsequential as “skin color” to determine financial merit, isn’t it?
Based on this controversy generated by attempting to award race-based scholarships to all races, we are confronted with two possible resolutions. One is to continue offering race-based scholarships only to ethnic minorities. The other is to do away with race-based scholarships altogether; to instead give out money to those who need it, regardless of skin tone.
One of these solutions will usher us towards an era where racial discrimination is truly a thing of the past; the other will perpetuate the tired tradition of assuming that ethnic minorities are unable to succeed without a hand out.
I’ll let you decide which is which.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of scholarships available to future college students, as long as the applicants are black, Asian, or Hispanic. In other words, not white. A list of such scholarships can be found at www.guilford.edu/finaid/index.cfm?ID=200000340.
The College Republicans are not asking Roger Williams University to change its admission standards that give an “edge” to non-white students. Rather, the scholarship is available only to admitted students, and was created to suggest that scholarships should be administered solely on merit, be it academic, athletic or financial.
The College Republicans website also has a posting by the club’s Executive Director, Caucasian Monique Stewart. “I come from a single-parent household. I am the first in my family to go to college, and the costs are astronomical … as of right now I am selling my car just to pay for this semester. Last year I worked two jobs equaling almost 45-50 hours a week at times.”
Or, as Guilford first-year Matthew Steere puts it. “There are a lot of poor white people out there. I know. I’m one of them.”
Are the Roger Williams University College Republicans racist?
Sure. After all, they’re offering money to people based on skin color. But then are the list of groups available on Guilford’s website racist?
Sure. After all, they’re doing the same thing.