[sigh] I got an email today on my MSU account about a new PRIDE scholarship that allows at least $500 to a qualified gay/bi/lesbian/transgendered student. Now, I�m about to enter a rant about this, so if you are sympathetic to this cause, please exit my diary.
It�s wonderful to give well deserving students scholarships, but I�m at the end of my rapidly fraying rope with scholarships that are directed toward students of a specific race and now a specific sexual orientation. This conveniently comes when UofM�s graduate school was just again allowed (by a US court of appeals) to consider race when deciding whether or not a student is given admission.
I understand completely giving students who have had a continuous circle of shit reigned on them the chance at a new and better life by giving them scholarships. However, there are poor white families out there too (and I am definitely not one of them). I am so unbelievably sick of people who are for affirmative action referring back to how black people were oppressed by slavery.
Sure, they were oppressed, but the Civil War ended 150 years ago. I know that a lot of times that non-white races have a much tougher time in the workplace and as students than white students, but can we please stop referring to slavery? Giving students who come from poor school districts money for college is not going to solve the underlying problem that they are not on the same level as middle and upper class students. Inevitably, they will struggle through school because of the lack of opportunities offered to them in their lesser education so giving them scholarships does nothing to help them achieve.
Unfortunately, a huge, almost nation-wide effort, would be needed to nip this problem in the bud and I really don�t see that happening all that soon.
That leads me to my current position.
College is about learning and achieving correct?
So why the hell are athletes, minority races, and (now) students with �minority� sexual orientations given priority over those who also need the money and are simply high achieving white students?
Supposedly white women benefit the most from affirmative action, but I have yet to see it. I haven�t been given any special privilege because I am a white woman. I haven�t been given any scholarship money or a push into the workforce.
And frankly, I don�t want it.
I don�t want the people that I work with to look at me and say that the only reason I got the job is because I�m lacking a penis. I want to earn my place and feel good about myself for doing it.
My thing is, if you beg for equality, don�t ask for special privilege.
If you want this long deserved equality for being black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, gay, bi, or transgendered, please don�t ask for extra money or voting power.
Do it yourself like everyone else.
Again, I understand that white men have the �upper hand� in the world and that many minority students aren�t given ample opportunity and do deserve some kind of push, but I think a bit more effort needs to be put in to earning this push.
For example, my half Native American former suitemate comes to school on a full tuition scholarship with the minimum GPA requirement of a 2.0. A 2.0 is what is required to keep you in the university. Basically, she gets a complete free ride regardless of the work she puts into it. So, my suitemate doesn�t even appreciate her gift and barely tries to earn good grades. She drinks and parties all the time (which from what I�ve learned is not uncommon as the average college experience, heh) but she�s barely putting in an extended academic effort from high school.
That bothers me.
Alas, I have only one year left and it looks that I won�t be getting any scholarship money again, so maybe I should just put this behind me.
Maybe.
