The lack of diversity and whitewashing of college campuses is an age-old problem. The fact that few campuses are as diverse as our own is not only a self-perpetuating issue, but it is also something that works to the detriment of a huge proportion of our population. Because many people who are part of the lower class are also people of color, they often can’t afford higher education and are therefore left out of better paying jobs – something that only keeps people of color at a disadvantage.
This problem, however, has been somewhat quelled, in part, because of race-based scholarships that have given disenfranchised people a chance to get a leg up in our cutthroat, capitalistic society.
Now, however, the campus Republican group at Boston University has decided to give away a $250 scholarship that exclusively applies to white people, according to an article on the Web site for CNN.
In the early days of universities, most colleges were exclusively for white men, and scholarships clearly were only for whites. This practice was continued in the United States for quite some time and race-based scholarships now are merely creating a more fair playing ground.
While the effort to divert attention away from race and focus instead on socioeconomic status may be an honorable idea, it detracts attention away from an issue that has been a central conflict in our nation since its genesis.
While race has become a moot point of discussion in other nations, our nation has deep roots in de facto and de jure segregation – something that can’t be overlooked. For nearly 200 years, our nation allowed a huge segment of its people to be enslaved based on their ethnicity and, unfortunately, the remnants and repercussions of this still linger.
Unlike other countries where it’s extremely common to see interracial relationships and, consequently, people of mixed ethnicities and heritages, American society is deeply stratified. It’s extremely rare to encounter people with diverse backgrounds (and no, Irish and German or some other permutation of European doesn’t count.)
This is, at least in part, due to financial disparities that are present in our society that favor white people over other races. Whites have had favorable circumstances in nearly all aspects of society including social and fiscal, that other races have not.
According to a U.S. Census release in 2000, the percentage of white students enrolled at colleges across the nation was 70 percent, while African-Americans, Latinos and Asians combined made up the remaining 30 percent of college composition. Clearly there is a huge disparity in the amount of people of color enrolling in college compared to whites who are enrolling.
Race and financial-based scholarships help create a diverse atmosphere on college campuses. The efforts made by the campus Republican student organization at BU are only fighting to maintain the status quo.
Instead of creating a scholarship that is based on race and in favor of whites, the group should create a scholarship that appeals to people with financial struggles of all backgrounds.
Campus diversity is an important aspect of college life and benefits all students. Having people from different backgrounds and ethnicities present in lecture halls and classrooms can only enhance the discussions by broadening the points of view, something essential to all campuses. Without campus diversity, universities would only serve as places to further connect us to the current state of things and limit our understanding of the world and the possibilities for change.
Let’s create an atmosphere that promotes diversity of thought. After all, diversity should be the cornerstone of any respectable university.
