<p>"Members of a new Texas association are starting a college scholarship program for a group of students they say do not have as many scholarship options as others -- white men.</p>
<p>Colby Bohannan, a student at Texas State University in San Marcos, and some friends have formed the non-profit Former Majority Association for Equality, which will provide the scholarships. The idea was that there are many scholarships geared toward helping minorities and women attend college, and there are also scholarships for people from certain religions or from certain families. But Bohannan thought his demographic group was missing.</p>
<p>'We know that we're going to be receiving some vicious attacks, from people claiming that we are racists, or promoting some bigotry-filled agenda,' Bohannan said on Thursday."</p>
<p>Because, I suppose, access to higher education is the key to mitigating the systematic disadvantage that comes with being both white and male in our culture? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Don’t be so quick to sneer. It’s a weird world out there in scholarship land. Some ethnic groups/religions offer significant opportunities. However, my genetic heritage is full of cheapskates! And there was a plethora of scholarships that developed for young women from 1975 to present. They were needed. </p>
<p>There is quite a bit of sociology/documentation that indicates that young males are having a harder and harder time getting into college and finishing college. This is true across all ethnic groups. Also, college costs continue to rise for everyone. </p>
<p>If this guy has been searching for his denominator in the scholarship ranks and not coming up with much, then more power to him for working to fill the space.</p>
<p>Anyone can make a scholarship for any group. As long as we have that freedom in this country, I don’t see any problem. Neither of my two remaining students qualify but then they don’t qualify for almost any of the special scholarships.</p>
<p>I think this is an interesting idea. I am a white/Hispanic female in humanities and I can tell you that I didn’t get anything for being any of those, so I really don’t have a bone in this lol.</p>
<p>However, I come from the Detroit area where Detroit schools have a graduation rate of about 16% for white males. I believe it is nearly double that for black males. This would be perfectly appropriate for white males to get a scholarship- they are the minority and the marginalized group for that area. If it’s for an area where the graduation for white males far exceeds that of Latino or black males, then I believe it should go to the Latinos/blacks. </p>
<p>But hey- it’s their money. Let them do what they want. Not my place to judge.</p>
<p>I agree that it is their money and they can set up a scholarship for whatever group they deem appropriate. While searching for scholarship opportunities for my daughter I came across so many that were very well, and narrowly, defined. There were some that went so far as to designate race, sex, geographic locale, and major. So for example: only hispanic females living in Miami who want to major in accounting are eligible. </p>
<p>There is definitely a severe absence of targeted scholarships for males, especially white and asian. Everyone deserves a chance to make college more affordable. I applaud any group that strives to promote higher education.</p>
<p>The weirdness of particulars for certain scholarships:</p>
<p>When you fill out the application for a UC school, there is a long, long list of scholarships to check off as to whether you would qualify. </p>
<ol>
<li> Is an ancestor from a certain province in China?</li>
<li> Are you the child of a firefighter from XYZ county?</li>
<li> Do you have an ancestor who fought for the Union in the Civil War?</li>
<li> Are you Hispanic from a ABC county who wants to major in (fill in the blank).</li>
</ol>
<p>I question whether a state university like UC should administer scholarships that are limited to certain races, ethnicities or genders.</p>
<p>The money for those scholarships was given with specific restrictions as to where the money is to be designated. This means that the university cannot change who the money goes to without a huge ugly expensive legal battle. It just would not be worth the time and effort. Certainly, the university could specify that all future scholarships must be established in such a way that there are no restrictions as to race/ethnicity/gender/etc., however until the money runs out for the ones that currently exist, the rules governing those scholarships won’t be changed.</p>
<p>They could be handed out privately. I don’t think scholarships that discriminate by race or gender have any place on an application to a state university. </p>
<p>And I do remember when my kids, son and daughter, filled out that part of the application, there were many more check marks my daughter could make as a woman than my white male son could do.</p>
<p>Have you ever looked at the requirements for some of the big football schools. My goodness, if you can prove a bloodline to ex coach a, b or c then you qualify. If your parents ever played for ex coach a, b or c then you qualify.</p>
<p>If you are the one handing out the money then you get to make the rules.</p>
<p>Exactly. This is a private scholarship and can be used at any university. If a group of people want to make a statement with their pocketbook, power be to them. If it is merely a publicity stunt where some nominal amounts are given just to make a point, then shame on them for misleading potential applicants.</p>
<p>Now, I’m not exactly arguing against this scholarship, but sometimes people lose sight of why scholarships targeted towards certain minority groups exist in the first place. The scholarships not targeted towards those groups usually go to people of the majority group.</p>
<p>“If you are the one handing out the money then you get to make the rules.” </p>
<p>Absolutely. So when rich businessperson A gives money to public U B in order to fund scholarships for students in category C, if public U B wants to be able to get its paws on that money, then the money has to go to the students businessperson A wants to give it to. Certainly, public U B can always turn down the money, but if it is money that it has had since rich businessperson A gave it to them in year XXXX, it is most likely that there isn’t even be a legal framework allowing the money to be handed off to another entity.</p>
<p>So are you saying that white men should not be allowed scholarships? And what about Asians? I hardly ever see any scholarships for them either?</p>
<p>Do you honestly think there are no white males that are poor and can not afford college w/o some scholarship assisstance? </p>
<p>You are actually decriminating against white males by not treating them equally.</p>
<p>There are far more women currently attending college now than men. So if you go by just a “sex”" requirement then the men are the minority and should have the scholarship opportunity. I do not think I have ever seen a scholarship for males only, while there are tons of them for women.</p>
<p>@SVM- I think you are reading wayyy too much into what (s)he said. She/He said that generally, scholarships that aren’t targeted for specific people go to the majority group. Which, up until recently, was white males. No where did he/she even hint that white males should get no scholarship assistance. </p>
<p>PS: I see scholarships for Asians all the time. I have also seen plenty that did not allow me to apply because I was female.</p>
<p>OK, I get your point. I am just frustrated when people act as if just because you are a white male, you do not need a scholarship. The connotation is that all white males are middleclass or above and have not had struggles in thier lives and therefore need no help. </p>
<p>On the other hand I am very happy to have you report that there ARE scholarships for Asians. That is great. </p>
<p>BTW, I just googled “Scholarships for males” and the only thing I got was references to this article. Then I googled “scholarships for females” and got tons of them.</p>
<p>I just noticed what they’re calling themselves. The fact that this group is called the “Former Majority Association for Equality” should tell enough.</p>