I read an article this morning that the Boston University College Republicans (BUCR) is giving a scholarship called the “Caucasian Achievement and Recognition Scholarship”.

From the article:

“Did we do this to give a scholarship to white kids? Of course not,” the scholarship reads. “Did we do it to trigger a discussion on what we believe to be the morally wrong practice of basing decisions in our schools and our jobs on racial preferences rather than merit? Absolutely.”

I must tip my hat to the BUCR’s (as I would to any organization) for bringing up this issue.  It is one that people don’t want to talk about.  To many things are not equal.  That goes for scholarships and jobs. I think to many people sit quietly by and watch all of this.
I know of one person who will not hire some one based on race or sex.  If he has 2 candidates of different sex or race, but they are equal (in the initial interview) on qualifications he’ll bring them in for as many interviews as it takes to get the more qualified person.  He will not make a decision based upon race, sex, religion, or anything like that.  It’s based upon qualifications.

Affirmative Action has been a hot topic.  In fact, my first big policy research paper was on this very subject.  I think it’s great that the BUCR is bringing attention to this issue.  We see it played out in a lot of schools across the nation.  I believe that it’s a big issue on Bethel’s campus, however in my interview of the Admissions Counselor there he said Affirmative Action was not used in the process of accepting students.

My paper was on the topic of Affirmative Action and using that in the college admissions process, but it would have been interesting to do it with Scholarships.  I have a feeling that a lot of schools have scholarships with racial preferences.

I personally think that in today’s society we need to give people equal footing.  We don’t want to elevate one group over the other.  “Equal Opportunities” is the common phrase.  But when schools give out scholarships based upon racial preferences is that equal?   Shouldn’t scholarships be based upon need?  (I don’t think schools define “need” very well.  They define need based upon what their parents make.  What if the parent’s don’t help their kids with finances in college?  A person from a family that has an income of $50,000/year but their family doesn’t help out with tuition costs is on the same financial footing as a person from a family that has an income of $20,000/yr.)

Any thoughts?

One year ago today I was sitting in the office anxiously awaiting the arrival of Beth and my parents out in DC for Thanksgiving.  Wow, that seems weird it was a year ago.  I remember the anxious feeling surrounding the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Everyone was ready to go on vacation.  Lauren and I were busy finishing up the Christmas Cards.  What a great time!

I got to meet Beth at the airport!  I scared her while she was waiting for the subway to come.  That was great!  I’ll never forget that moment.  That was the night we got to tour the West Wing, which was pretty sweet.  Also got to get my parents in to see the departure, which was fun.  Although it was a little chilly and Marine One makes a big wind storm!

What a great weekend!