<p>When did you get this email? And what was the cutoff for 2011?</p>
<p>I didn’t get an email , the school told me. And i made like 202-205 something, so yeah…</p>
<p>Nil…</p>
<p>You should be very proud of your accomplishment for all the reasons previously stated plus more. Since you are a senior I think it is important to share with you the experience of my DS who is now a college freshman. I am full Hispanic so my son is 50% and he has a very waspy last name with a hispanic middle name. My son is a National Hispanic Scholar “NHS” (similar to NAA/NAS program). Some of his classmates like the co-validectorian said snide comments to him too about being an NHS. They made comments like “he was cheating the system since he didn’t have a hispanic last name” or other anti-AA comments. It really got to my son to the point that he told me “mom can you not tell people I am Hispanic.” </p>
<p>Finally my son realized that the comments were not really for his benefit but more a way of the speaker dealing with their own insecurities. You will find that the college application process creates some stress or other bad behavior in people. People will try to “cut down” other people as they deal with their own insecurities so during this year try your best to ignore such comments. My son finally did when I explained to him he was a role model for other Hispanics. As an other poster mentioned the numbers for NHS/NAS/NAA are so small when compared to the number of students who take the test that you like my son represent the brightest of African-American high school seniors this year. Your accomplishment gives hope to younger students and inspires them to work hard in their own work. Without such awards students might not feel motivated to work so hard and Colleges might not be able to identify bright minority students. Current day affirmative action and awards like NHS/NAA/NAS simply turn the door knob to opportunity—it is your job to open the door and walk through it. Never let others set your ceiling in life-as I tell my children “reach for your stars”. </p>
<p>Good luck and hang in there and be proud!!</p>
<p>P.S. My son and I developed a couple of responses to similar comments so maybe you can too so when someone says something similar you’ve got a response that shuts them up. So when the co-valedictorian said another comment my son said “last time I checked my grandparents and my mom were Latino so yes I’m pretty sure I am hispanic” or “I can’t believe I got that award -do you know only 5K students in the country get it while 20K get NMF!!” or “are you worried that affirmative action is going to get me into a school that you can’t get into??” you get the picture-just say something that shuts them up.</p>
<p>Nil-</p>
<p>I forgot one more thing. Check to see if any colleges give merit scholarships for your award. My son ended up receiving a full ride to college through a combination of merit scholarships including one for being an NHS. Now the kids who made snide comments to him didn’t come close to the amount of my DS’s scholarship awards. So they can have all the snide comments they want to make because my DS doesn’t ever have to worry about how he is going to pay for college. He loves his college and it is the perfect fit for him. </p>
<p>Keep positive and good luck with your college applications.</p>
<p>Nil desperandum, I did not want you to explain to your detractor why you deserved recognition or debate the merit of affirmative action. The history of America is replete with example after example of whites steadfast opposition to equal justice for African Americans. I wanted you to understand the purpose behind affirmative action: If the government had not intervened, statutes would continue to be promulgated to deny equal opportunity for African Americans. </p>
<p>My comments were designed to help you understand the fear behind the white resistance, so that you would understand that most whites have been given more than what they deserve and have benefitted from the exploitation of others. In contrast, most blacks have been given less than what they deserve and have suffered a detriment to their ability to succeed. Hence, whites were given more to help them achieve, and blacks were given less to prevent their achievement. Ergo, it should not surprise anyone that whites generally outperform blacks. </p>
<p>Further, you can do a quick search of the New York Times website on the issue of legacy. Affirmative action has done more for students of legacy than it has for blacks, and it has done more for white women than it has for blacks. It is generally used in the context of race, however, because of the animus toward black people. Hence, opponents of affirmative action know that many Americans will oppose such a practical program because of their visceral dislike of African Americansand the fear we provoke if given an equal opportunity.</p>
<p>Never forget that oppression is nothing but fear disguised as power. The Romans mocked Jesus and put a crown of thorns on his head. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called Mohandas Gandhi a fake. Albert Einstein would later observe, he was afraid that the day would come when the world would not believe that such a great man like Gandhi once lived. To deflect from British oppression, Churchill cast aspersions on Gandhis virtue. Some of Dr. Kings critics called him, Martin Looser King, because they envied his eloquence and intelligence. Your entire life will be fraught with critics who will challenge your success. Understand who you are, and you will not be ashamed of what you are.</p>
<p>Although you did not specify what your PSAT score was, a score of 202-205 would arguably rank among the 97th or 98th percentile in the nation. In some states, you would have made National Merit. The salient issue, however, is not whether you made National Merit or National Achievement, but that you allowed a condescending comment from another student to minimize your accomplishment. </p>
<p>She knew that you were an African American, a member of a racial group that has been systematically discriminated against for more than 500 years. Despite nearly five centuries of privilege for her race, and nearly five hundred years of oppression for yours, she still barely outperformed you on the PSAT. Hers was a bittersweet victory. </p>
<p>We read in the Book of Job, chapter 30, verse 1: But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. Job was a perfect and upright man, yet there were those who denigrated him. Such critics had already surrendered to fear; they had abdicated their virtue. Job would never surrender his, even in the face of death. His critics were so vile and profane, Job would not have let themor even their fatherssit with his dogs. Job knew who he was, and nothing would make him surrender his self-identity.</p>
<p>My sister, nil desperandum, never allow anyone to make you feel ashamed of anything associated with your heritage. Further, do not be ashamed of an award reserved for African Americans. We have withstood the Middle Passage, slavery, Jim Crow, and many other forms of oppression. The National Achievement Award is not given as an indication of lower expectations for blacks; it is given as an indication that, despite five centuries of racial oppression, some blacks already rank among the nations elite! That is remarkable!</p>