"We saw opportunities for just about every single demographic, as far as pausing for college goes, except for this one," Lake told Talking Points Memo. "We're just providing one for this demographic. Why shouldn't there be money available for these people?" Read more at Colorlines...The following is a transcript of our discussion, edited for clarity and better flow. [The editor's notes are our additions during the editing process]. We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section.
Tami:
What bothers me most about this scholarship for white guys is that it
demonstrates a lack of understanding for what "minority" scholarships
are about.
Mikhail: Sure it does. It fails to acknowledge
the reality that students of color face obstacles to success that
white students don't, which is not to say that some white students
don't also have obstacles -- they do -- but those obstacles are not
related to their whiteness.
Tami: Right. Scholarships are
not extra goodies offered to students of color or female students.
Scholarships are meant to mitigate the imbalances in opportunity caused
by race, gender, etc.
Mikhail: If we agree on the above,
then the implication is that it is reasonable to have race-targeted
scholarships for students of color and not for white students.
Tami:
Yes. It is also interesting that the difficulties faced by at least
two of the men who are the face of this scholarship have nothing to do
with their race. One had a criminal record. One was a poor student.
Mikhail: ...and I'd like to see educational opportunities (including scholarships) be available for members of those groups too!
Tami:
Yes. Why not a scholarship for students with criminal records? But why
does that student see whiteness at the root of his problem, I wonder?
Mikhail:
The answer that comes to mind is that this student (and presumably
many others) resent what they see as unfair advantages available to
students of color. Basically, they see the policy response...but not
the reason that the policy response is necessary.
Tami: I also have a problem with this Former Majority business. [Editor's note: The nonprofit offering the scholarship is called the Former Majority Association for Equality.]
Mikhail: How so?
Tami: The
problems of POCs and women are not necessarily related to minority
status. Indeed, aren't women slightly more than 50 percent of the
population now? [Editor's note: We checked: women comprise 50.7% of the U.S. population according to he 2009 U.S. census data.]
Our problems are related to racism, sexism and bias. These things can
exist regardless of minority status. (See, for instance, apartheid-era
South Africa).
Mikhail: I agree that it's not JUST
minority status. Incidentally, women though just slightly more than 50%
of population, comprise a much higher percentage of college students
and an even higher percentage of college graduates [Editor's note:
Women have represented about 57 percent of enrollments at American
colleges since at least 2000, according to a recent report by the
American Council on Education]. Numerically, men are an
under-represented group in college. There are even some discussions
happening (I don't know how seriously to take them.) about the
possibility of an affirmative action program for male college
applicants.
Tami: The scholarships these guys compare
their scholarship to exist to mitigate imbalances of opportunity and
social power. I would love to hear one of these students demonstrate
how POCs and women have access to greater opportunity and power than
white American men.
Mikhail: I don't think that kind of
demonstration is possible, but they are not thinking in those terms. As
I said, I think they see the scholarships but not the reason those
scholarships are necessary.
Tami: You make a good point
re: men being underrepresented in colleges. What is the prevailing
wisdom on why that is? I suspect that this particular scholarship does
not address the problem.
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