Published: 02.16.2004
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRISTOL, R.I. - A student group at Roger Williams University is offering a new
scholarship for which only white students are eligible, a move they say is designed
to protest affirmative action.
The application for the $250 award requires an essay on “why you are proud
of your white heritage” and a recent picture to “confirm whiteness.”
“Evidence of bleaching will disqualify applicants,” says the application,
issued by the university’s College Republicans.
Jason Mattera, 20, who is president of the College Republicans, said the group
is parodying minority scholarships.
“We think that if you want to treat someone according to character and
how well they achieve academically, then skin color shouldn’t really be
an option,” he said. “Many people think that coming from a white background
you’re automatically privileged, you’re automatically rich and your
parents pay full tuition. That’s just not the case.”
The stunt has angered some at the university, but the administration is staying
out of the fray. The provost said it’s the group’s initiative and
not endorsed by the school.
Mattera, of Puerto Rican descent, has a $5,000 scholarship open only to a minority
group. “No matter what my ethnicity is, I’m making a statement that
scholarships should be based on merit and need,” he told the Providence
Journal.
His group took out a full-page ad in last week’s issue of the university’s
student newspaper to tout the scholarship, which was for $50 until two donors
came forward to add $100 each, Mattera said.