Is a Whites-Only Scholarship Wrong?

Should African Americana Be Angered by a Whites-Only Scholarship?

Recent news of a whites-only scholarship announced by Joe Mroszczyk, president of the College Republicans at Boston University has many African Americans in an uproar. As an African American myself, my feelings are mixed. The fact however that Mr. Mroszczyk is surprised by the negative response is laughable. My opinion is that the $250.00 scholarship offer was done for nothing more than to make a point. My question is was his point really made.

To receive this scholarship worth enough money to buy books for one semester, applicants must score a 3.2 or higher GPA, write two essays, and be at least ¼ Caucasian. The group's effort to explain their bias is in an attached explanation that states, "We believe that racial preferences in all their forms are perhaps the worst form of bigotry confronting America today". Therefore, by excluding racial groups from the scholarship, they are therefore boycotting scholarships that exclude racial groups. How poetic.

I find it difficult to be bothered by this scholarship/ publicity stunt. After all, I was the recipient of several African American-only scholarships as a young coed. I did not have a problem with the local African American Elks club paying for my books. Why should I have a problem with the College Republicans at Boston University paying for the books of someone who is at least ¼ Caucasian? That would be hypocritical of me wouldn't it?

This is not the first time a scholarship of this nature has been offered. Just two years ago, the College Republicans at Roger Williams University offered the same scholarship. This attempt to stir up conversation about racial preferences has been dismissed as "a poor way to talk about affirmative action" by the president of the schools Latino fraternity, David Coreas. (I have to wonder if this Latino fraternity admits whites.)