All men are created equal, we say. I have always loved being an American because of this sentiment. But as I have worked on the college application process, I have become very disturbed by something: our society is not living this dream. We have gone from the terrible days of bashing minorities because of their color and race, whether black or brown or a varying shade between, to a different evil--a world where the "majority" whites are no longer equal to the "minorities". If we care so much about being equal, why can't we truly JUST BE EQUAL?
Equal means the same, that color is disregarded as a criteria. There is no such thing any more as a "White Man's" scholarship. It would be Lawsuit City! Yet as I have searched for applications, the MAJORITY have been for those people labeled as "minorities". I do not have equal opportunities to apply for scholarships because I am not an "African-American" or "Latino-American" and the list goes on. Maybe I am a Tan American. Skin color does not define who we are. I would appreciate it if our government and other organizations would figure that out. We are created equal. Let's keep us equal.
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There are so many scholarships for those two groups of people that you mentioned as well as native americans. What ever happened to the rest of the people? To me it is as though they are trying to make right for what was done to these people in the past.
Yes, but what they do not realize is there are so many wrongs in the past that we cannot possibly make up for all of them. We need to make a fresh start, with everyone equal, not the "injured" parties ahead.
But even now, "minorities" are relatively disadvantaged in comparison to whites .. especially in terms of finances.
Yes, that is very true. The only time only time it seems as though white are at a disadvantage is when it comes to scholarships. There are many more things where white have the advantage, esp when it comes to finances.
Being a minority does not automatically make you disadvantaged in finances though. To fix that issue, scholarships should be based on financial need, not race.
It's up to the scholarship committee to decide that. The scholarship committes that have race-separated scholarships are doing it because their target students are financially disadvantaged "minorities." And if they are targeting a certain race or stratifying factor for that, there's nothing you can do about it.
There are other scholarships based on academic merit, financial need, and other non-race factors. Apply for those instead and move on, because you're not going to change their minds.
I think I agree with this. Although I favor affirmative action in universities and some jobs, I don't think that specifying a race for a scholarship is OK, since it resembles a "quota" more than a "factor in the decision".
Regardless, things like this are likely to phaze out over time, as society itself liberalizes and there becomes less of a need.
Obviously they're indepedent scholarhips, though, and can't really be regulated in this respect based on government-limiting precedents.
I absolutely agree. And as for the finances, even though statistically minorities tend to be worse off, over the years I've known a lot of poor white people who aren't really getting any help for college or have been excluded from certain scholorships simply because they are white. As well, I've known quite a few Hispanic-Americans and African Americans who are very well off.
I'm not saying that both parties don't deserve scholarships but it appears that the universities and particularly the government are basing affirmitive action on guilt they feel for their ancestors past actions rather than an actual good will for the students applying.
It depends on where the funds are coming from. If these are public funds, then I'm pretty sure race, creed, nor color can be a factor. However, if the scholarship is privately funded, then you have no right to demand inclusion. If take $100 of my hard earned money and put it aside for a scholarship, then I get to say who gets it, period. If you come along and tell me that MY decision on how to give away MY money discriminates against you, then you are infringing upon my civil liberties. The people towards whom you should direct your resentment aren't those who setup the minority scholarships but those who do NOT setup non-minority scholarships.
Heh a scholarship specifically for non-minorities only? It would be theoretically legal as long as it's not part of a public business, I think, but I certainly wouldn't apply for it.