If you are not a white student, do not even think about applying for a new scholarship created by Roger Williams University’s College Republican Alliance.
According to The Hawk’s Right Eye, the group’s monthly periodical, the scholarship consists of an application listing the applicant’s achievements, an essay titled “Why I am proud of my white heritage” and a picture attached “to confirm whiteness.”
The paper warns “evidence of bleaching will disqualify applicants.”
The ad first ran in the periodical and the scholarship was originally for $50.
Then, according to CNN.com, the group took out a full-page ad in the University’s newspaper. Over the weekend, two people came forward and each donated $100 to the fund.
Christopher Boudreaux, president of LSU’s College Republican Alliance said he often is asked if LSU’s CRA will mimic protests or demonstrations other College Republican groups around the country initiate, but in this case the answer is absolutely not.
“Offering a scholarship for only white students does not create a healthy environment for debate and discussing the merits of affirmative action,” Boudreaux said.
In the CNN.com article, president of RWU’s College Republicans Jason Mattera said the group created the scholarship to protest affirmative action.
“We think that if you want to treat someone according to character and how well they achieve academically, then skin color shouldn’t really be an option,” he said. “Many people think that coming from a white background you’re automatically privileged, you’re automatically rich and your parents pay full tuition. That’s just not the case.”
Mattera is of Puerto Rican decent and the recipient of a $5,000 scholarship open only to minority students.
Boudreaux said the official position of CRA is to support equal rights and opportunities for all people, and the scholarship contradicts that position.
“The College Republicans of LSU have no plans to do anything of the sort, and do not support their actions,” he said.
Katie Fuller, an animal sciences sophomore, said it may be legal for the group to offer the scholarship, but it does not make it right.
“If they really wanted their protest to be effective, it would make a better point if they opened it to all people instead of just one specific group of people,” she said.
Fuller said white people in this country have not been oppressed like minorities.
“That is why we need minority scholarships — they are a way to level the playing field and make the game as fair as possible,” she said.
Emily Gillett said, for her, the subject is just a big gray area.
“I can see the logic in their idea, but the scholarship is highly unethical and based on misconceptions of what affirmative action actually is,” she said.
Brennan Kluka, a biological sciences sophomore, said offering minority scholarships serves people of all minorities and should only be used to attract students of a minority race.
“If a white person is the minority at a school, he can receive a scholarship just like people of other backgrounds receive scholarships for being a minority,” he said. “If a white person is not the minority, there is no reason for the scholarship.”
Ashley White, a pre-nursing sophomore, said minority scholarships are not meant to be offensive.
“Sometimes it’s just about numbers,” she said. “Affirmative action programs are in place to attract people of different races. Certain programs and groups lack the numbers they need to be diverse.”
The Hawk’s Right Eye said, as part of their Black History Month celebration, the scholarship recipient will be announced before the keynote speaker gives his address Wednesday night.