News Flash: College is super expensive.
So unless you’ve got an automatic jump shot, perfect SAT scores, or super-rich parents — finding a way to pay all those expensive college bills can be tricky — especially when Student Loan debt is fast becoming one of the country’s biggest financial issues.
Your other option, especially if you’re a hardworking student with good grades and plenty of extracurricular activities is to apply for scholarships. There are tons of them out there, and I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who spent far too much time during my junior and senior years writing and mailing off applications and essays to groups I’d never even heard of all in hope of being awarded like $500.
So when graduation time started getting close for 17 year-old King High School student Jeffrey Warren — he did what a lot of us did at that age, he started applying for every scholarship he could. And after 27 applications, essays, and letters — Jeffrey was fortunate enough to win four of them.
One of which was being offered by the Martin Luther King Senior Citizens Club in Riverside, California.
The only problem was when Jeffrey went on stage to accept the award, he was met with nervous laughter and odd stares from the audience in attendance.
The problem? Jeffrey Warren is white.
Here’s where the story gets interesting though. That night after receiving the $1000 scholarship, Warren and his parents had a talk. And a day later — Jeffrey Warren returned the money.
Warren checked the application rules to make sure he was eligible. The scholarship itself is intended (but not restricted) to African-American applicants — but the information on the website didn’t make this fact clear, and the phone interviewer that eventually said that it never even really occurred to him that the student might be white.
Etta Brown, the chairwoman of the MLK Senior Citizens Club’s scholarships committee, said she was shocked when she realized the winner of her group’s scholarship was a white student. Since the scholarship was created in 2005, it had never been awarded to a non-black student.
Warren’s decision to return the award was “generous,” she said. Since the application did not explicitly disqualify non-black students, she said the group would not have asked Warren to give it back, despite some internal debate.
In the future, the application will be worded more clearly, she said.
Warren’s scholarship has been given to an African-American student who will be attending Cornell University in the fall.
[Source]
But here’s where things get weird. When the news got a hold of this story and it started making the rounds — all sorts of people got mad about it — calling it reverse racism that an organization would offer a scholarship to only one racial group — and that not only should Warren should have kept the money, but the scholarship rules should be changed to include all races.
The internet (as usual) has been less kind in it’s language, and anywhere you see what might otherwise be a story of a kid making a conscientious choice is then stained by comment threads that go from angry political speech to outright racial epithets.
I’ve always been of the mindset that Reverse Racism is a big old bowl of day-old bullsh*t, cooked up by people who have no idea at all what it really means to be oppressed or treated differently. And yet — it’s talk that seems to continue, as activists and political pundits call out “UNFAIR” and “Double standard.”
But beyond all of this — can I just talk to the reverse racism bellringers out there? Are you all gathered around? Do I have your attention?
Shut the fu*k up.
Reverse Racism doesn’t exist. It’s a fairy tale, like the tooth fairy or the idea that the Miami Heat will win 7 championships. It’s an kneejerk reaction conspiracy theory cooked up by scared old men who don’t understand that they don’t (and never did) control goddamned everything — and are terrified of what might happen if one day all the things they thought they had influence over suddenly all vanished in a puff of smoke called “freedom.”
And calling out a group of senior citizens who messed up a web page (because that NEVER happens) when they’re trying to help kids have an easier time paying for college as if they’re standing on your lawn in hoods holding burning crosses only points the mirror back at YOU for not having any idea of what oppression really is.
So here’s the question: If this was you — if you had won an scholarship to help you pay for college, only to realize that the group that gave it to you had in some sense “made a mistake” – what would you do?
@HexaCorde
Latest posts by Hex (see all)
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There is no such thing as reverse racism….. only karma.
Being my daughter goes to that school… I have no comment.
And Karma is a real mutha for ya. . . . . . .
Give me a minute while I get over Baretta in Goth makeup…
Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow.
OMG I totally forgot about the awesomeness of the opening!
Good Stuff Hex. I believe that reverse racism is a ploy that was conjured up to destroy support from White people for affirmative action. Basically a divide and conquer move. Do I believe that scholarship sources should be allowed to limit their scholarships to a specific group? It's their money… it's their choice. Of course its really never an issue unless its a scholarship for Black students… and occasionally Latino students. You never hear anything about scholarships for Jewish students, or Engineering students, or Chinese majors, or left-handed people. But don't be fooled, if they can stop scholarships for Black students, Jewish students and everyone else will be added to the list.
As for this kid, he won the scholarship so they should have told him to keep the money. You put the wrong price tag on the jacket at J.C. Penney, you have to sell it for that price. I bet they wish they let him keep that money now. On the flip side, they kid knows who MLK is. He very likely applied thinking he was going to be denied, and then his denial would have been the issue. Either don't apply, or win and keep the money.
They actually did tell him he could keep the money. He was the one who decided to give it back.
I can certainly see the logic in the kid keeping the money. After all, it was a merit-based thing — and he had to go through a process just like all the other applicants. But there's taking the spoils of a competition and then there's realizing some things are bigger than the game.
Apparently the kids teachers (and private citizens) are already donating money to the kid's cause after hearing about the story.
And I guess that's what makes me the most angry — here's a good kid doing a selfless thing, and like Slaus said above — good karma is coming his way for it, but all alongside what should be a lesson in do unto others as you would have them do for you are all these frothing idiots trying to make it something else.
Regardless of them saying he could keep the money, they shouldn't have accepted the check back. As for the kid, he knew he was White when he applied even if the committee didn't. I won't just assume that his is or isn't noble, but if he had lost because of race he would have gotten just as much sympathy and community support as he is getting praise and community support for giving it back.
He probably did think about the bigger picture once he moved away from his mass scholarship search. else to get it, and I'm happy for anyone who can get something positive in their life without taking advantage of someone I hope he has a very successful future.
First, I don't think he should have returned the money. Big of him that he did, but he shouldn't have.
2nd – I don't agree with scholarships based on race (ie you can ONLY apply if you're XY or Z) THAT in and of itself is WRONG especially if the determining factors are based on financial need.
3rd – reverse racism….I'm tired….bye.
^^What Choc said!
Agrees 100%!
Co-sign!
Scholarship are typically not based on financial need.
What is this reverse racism of which you speak?<img src="http://i50.tinypic.com/1ttydl.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
Fantastic post, Hex. I agree completely about reverse racism, and it's kind of a subject that pisses me off. I think this story *should* be a learning experience for lots of folks- The young man who returned the money got to learn what it feels like to do the right thing (and kudos to him, and to his parents), the old folks giving the scholarship will maybe learn that it's ok to hire or grab up someone's grandkid to do the website stuff (hee.), and the rest of us could learn more about how to handle awkard situations like this.
Instead, we get these groups of imbeciles with internet running their mouths like they know anything at all, when they should be applauding both this group (who was very *shrug* Well, let's make that ish more clear for next time.) and this young man, who should honor and integrity when society tells him he shouldn't.
I also think that I need to start a scholarships that I will only give to left handed women/girls with brown eyes. Eff everyone else. :p And I will have a commitee (consisting of me.) who'll decide who's eyes are really brown, and who's are just dumb ol' hazel.
My daughter is left handed with brown yes. I'm going to have her call you when that scholarship gets started
My daughter's left handed with brown eyes, too! Let me know!! LoL!
You know, scholarships like that actually DO exist.
http://www.collegeandfinance.com/32-weird-scholar…
I'm kinda nice with it when it comes to duct tape,why did I not know I could have gotten a scholarship for this skill???O_O
That is amazing! Awesome. And totally my point! If private groups or individuals want to give their money away, they should be able to give it to whoever the Hades they want to!
the transgender southpaw women are giving you a side-eye right now
If they have brown eyes and a working vag, they're in. I don't care if they were born with the vag or not. :p
I had a left handed scholarship, they have you write your name a few times and have a handwriting analyst look at it! I also had a glasses scholarship, I had to send a copy of my eyeglass prescription in! Both came up to about 2500 all together!
ok i'm going to need for people to actually look up the word racism, then understand that "reverse racism" would imply (at least to me) what the phrase sounds like, which is….wait for it…TOLERANCE. or better yet, the shyt just doesn't make sense.
now that i got that off my chest, i wouldn't have given it back. it said right there in the rules that it was intended but not restricted to. so he actually won it fair and square. but he's a special kind of person to give it back, even if he didn't have to.
It was noble of him to voluntarily give the money back even though I believe he should have kept it.
He had already won $4500 in other scholarships.
If he hadn't given the money back, public perception would have painted him as a greedy entitled kid taking money from the 'disenfranchised minority youth'. He saved himself an unnecessary headache.
Private scholarships are such a numbers game to begin with, it's hardly the end of the world that they're so specialized. The kid wants to go to San Diego State — even with in-state tuition prices does anyone even consider just how much of a drop in the bucket that $1000 he gave back (or even the 45 he didn't) is in the larger picture?
So when you consider that, I feel like the price of being selfless was a pretty good bargain.
$1000 probably would even cover the price for his books.
Exactly, and it's probably going to be just as un-helpful for the kid they ended up awarding the scholarship to after he returned it — who's going to CORNELL!
My now retired co-worker went to FSU for $300 per semester. That included room, board, and pick-up laundry service. I think my organic chemistry book costs that much.
I went to FSU, apparently many years later than your coworker. Prices have CONSIDERABLY increased since then.
She went to FSU in the 50s. The women weren't even allowed to walk across campus in their gym shorts. The girls show up to class nearly naked now.
Which is why I made sure to never miss class.
I think it was wonderful he gave the money back. I applaud him for thinking about someone other than himself.
Reverse racism is just another way of saying "I'm a useless little shyt who wants to keep all the toys." Those who claim to be "victims" of it need a kick in the head.
I applaud him for giving it back; and the MLK committee for not asking him to do so. The rest of these reverse racism troglodytes can eat a hot steaming bowl of dacks.
As for me, I'd have considered keeping it, though in the end, I'd probably have given it back too.
i can't lie. i doubt i would have given it back. he won fair and square on this one. the fact he gave it back says a lot about his character which is probably how he wrote a winning essay in the first place.
There is one thing about the way this story was presented that bothers me. Like sex and violence, racism sells. Notice that the Black people interviewed said that their shouldn't be race based scholarships, and the White people said that there should. What are the odds of that happening? I haven't seen anything on the internet about this yet, but the news station definitely went for maximum emotion.
There is racism. What you need the reverse for?! All kinds of people hate all kinds of people for bullshyt reasons and whichever way racism goes it is still just plain old racism. *linguist peeve*
So. On topic: I'd have given it back. And no, I'm not rich, I got through college on state loans and side jobs as well.
I never applied for scholarships though, because I'm academically lazy, always have been an average B.
I think the kid was right, and I believe whom those people want to give their money to is THEIR DECISION.
They are not a state institution as far as I can see and they have the right to 'favoritism' just as much as your local country club has.
I think there are ENOUGH white/universal scholarship programs out there – those who complain about racism need to get their head out their own arses and consider how much their organizations/companies/families are supporting other ethnic groups before opening their flytrap.
Dis-gus-ting.
Maybe he should have been in black face with a large supersized black strap on dildo under his pants when he returned the $$$. Then everything would just kinda be a okay.
I applaud the young man for his actions; but it would have been okay by me if he had kept the money. MLK was fighting for equal rights to be recognized across the board, regardless of race, religion, etc. Just my opinion.
He won it, he keeps it. Same as P. Shiddy's son. If he wants to refuse it's up to him. Anyone can refuse anything offered to them; it'll just make his pockets that much lighter.
I think homeslice watched WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much "Soul Man" starring Rae Dawn Chong and C. Thomas Howell or something as a kid ( his parents too)[youtube z2zMrjBLwn8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2zMrjBLwn8 youtube]
I mean, if home cheese can prove he's like a 66th black or some ol sh*t usually reserved for mulatto, octoroon, et al types ( how's THAT for reverse racism LMMFAO) then have at.
The White Man’s Guide to Getting a Minority Scholarship