THE BATTALION
)sen as
jmorial
meday will be able lo
reflect on the lives of
st.
very important to us
y have a place where
a moment to pause,"
unn, who was three
pregnant at the time of
:k.
ials said they hope to
: memorial complete hy
1 next year. Its cost is
d at $4.9 million to $7,4
to be paid from contri-
and other funds with no
ial
federal money,
officials said.
The design
w
ers are Julie
Beckman, 30,
/...
and Keiti
was
yy
Kaseman,3l,of
New York City.
y.
“The memo
kman
rial had to be
like no other
memorial ...
signer
because Sept,
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other day,”
Beckman.
design, each ahi-
have the
te
bench
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and a glowing li
neath it. Clusters
II be planted for sh
lake the site more ii
ficials said,
(uncement of the
selection follows the
rement last week in
rk of a design for rede-
:nt of the site where the
frade Center was lev
terrorist airline hijack-
te same day.
design will haveaclus-
I assy, angled building!
1,776-foot spire fillei
rdens instead of offro
would preserve partof
hat was the foundatiot
win towers for an
rsigned memorial to tie
,800 people who died.
a with an estimated
ue of $3.3 million.
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 9 • Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Funding white education
United White Person’s College Fund signals end to scholarship discrimination
T exas Tech University
student Matt Coday has
done the unthinkable
and is ready to go to court to
defend it. Coday is the creator
of the United White Person’s
College Fund, a scholarship
that will award money to
white students in the United
States, according to the Texas
Tech newspaper University Daily. The scholar
ship serves as a source of financial assistance
to students whom Coday feels have been dis
criminated against by organizations designed to
give money to minorities. This scholarship is
justified in confronting the policies of such
minority-only organizations.
Coday is taking the much-needed step of
calling attention to the idea that black-only
groups and scholarships are acceptable, where
as the same kinds of “white” activities would
be labeled racist in today’s society. “If I were
to have a white students’ association or host a
Miss White Lubbock pageant, people would
say I was racist,” Coday said. However, rather
than viewing this scholarship as such, it should
be seen as merely another opportunity, another
distinction in scholarship funding.
According to FastWeb.com, there are more
than 600,000 scholarships available in the
United States today worth more than $1 billion
in money for college, and applicants fall into
every eligibility requirement imaginable.
Adding a white-only scholarship to this list
should not be viewed as racist, but rather as an
advancement of opportunity. Families across
the country, regardless of color, require the
help of outside funds to send their children to
college. There are scholarships exclusively
available to applicants from any number of
majors or fields of study, and even to family
members of military or government employees.
This is simply a continuation of that trend.
The Department of Financial Aid at Texas
A&M offers information and applications on
their Web site for many scholarships, all with
distinct and specific qualifications. They are
offered through academic colleges. The Texas
A&M Foundation, the Corp of Cadets, the
Hispanic College Fund, the United Negro
College Fund, the Native American College
Fund and by residency.
The eligibility require
ments for scholarships
available to students
cover every distinction,
and there should be
no problem establish
ing white as an eligi
bility requirement for
one of these.
Coday’s motives
are in response to
scholarship funds
such as the United
Negro College Fund.
“For the longest
time, members and
supporters of the
UNCF have said that
their practices are
not discriminatory,”
Coday said. The
UNCF’s stated mis
sion is “to enhance
the quality of educa
tion by providing
financial assistance
to deserving stu
dents, raising operat
ing funds for mem
bers of colleges and
universities, and
increasing access to technology for students
and faculty at historically black colleges
and universities,” according to uncf.org.
Whether the scholarships are discrimina
tory or not, the fund is clearly designed
to aid black students in obtaining a col
lege education, and the purpose of the
United White Person’s College Fund
is the same.
Out of the national graduating
high school class of 2000, only 64
percent of whites enrolled in col
lege, compared to 56.2 percent of
blacks and 53 percent of Hispanics,
according to the National Center for
Educational Statistics. The statistics point out
the need of scholarships for all races, as less
than two-thirds of high school graduates in the
United States are attending college. The num-
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
a«aa«iiiaaai
ber of students not graduating
is equally staggering.
The creation of this scholar
ship should be viewed not as a
response to other minority
scholarships, but rather as an
opportunity for white students
in need of college funds to
obtain needed financial backing.
Race-based scholarships are
preferential to one group at the
expense of others only if certain
races are denied the opportunity
for funding. Leveling the playing field and
making a fund available for whites simply adds
to the money that is available for funds solely
providing for black, Hispanic, Asian or Native
American students. Coday, if successful in his
fundraising, is adding to the abundance of col
lege funding available to students today.
The scholarship is a welcome idea to white
students who feel they have been exposed to
reverse discrimination in America, have been
denied access to funding because they are not
the minority. The establishment of a white-only
scholarship may do nothing more than shed
light on the futility of having scholarships
based entirely on race, but the bottom line
remains that funding for higher education
should be widely available. The more opportu
nities for intellectual enrichment, the better.
Kelln Zimmer is a senior
English major.
te escapes
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a Driver-
Manhattanville senior
exercising free speech
(U-WIRE) STILLWATER,
Okla. — Over the past few
decades, hypocrisy has become
a standard in this country. Our
national anthem calls America
the “land of the free,” yet racial
profiling is now acceptable to
many in certain circumstances
in light of recent events. We
rely on media outlets, this one
included, to relay information
about what’s going on in the
world, but often get irritated or
offended when a contrasting
viewpoint is expressed.
Think back to your
American government class,
whenever that might have
been. One of the rights guaran
teed under the First
Amendment is freedom of
speech, which includes the
right to protest against our
country and its government.
When an ordinary citizen
chooses to exercise that right, a
few eyebrows might raise and
every great once in a while,
some good comes out of it.
However, when an athlete
opts to protest, all hell breaks
loose. At the 1968 Summer
Olympics in Mexico City,
American sprinters John Carlos
and Tommie Smith silently
exercised their First
Amendment right during a
medal ceremony by raising a
single fist and lowering their
heads during the national
anthem in protest of segrega
tion, despite the 1964 Civil
Rights Act and 1954 Brown v.
Board of Education decision.
Consequently, they were
banned from the Olympic
Village.
A few years ago, Denver
Nuggets guard Mahmoud
Abdul-Rauf sat during the
pregame national anthem at a
home game and was suspended
indefinitely by the NBA.
Recently, Dallas Mavericks
star Steve Nash was harassed
by reporters during a post
game conference for wearing a
T-shirt sporting an anti war
slogan.
In the real world, most peo
ple don’t pay much attention to
D-I women's basketball, let
alone Division III.
Manhattanville (NY) College
senior forward Toni Smith has
caused quite an uproar this sea
son. Smith, a sociology senior,
has refused to face the flag dur
ing pregame ceremonies all sea
son long in protest of the poten
tial war with Iraq and many of
the inequalities and hypocrisies
that our government stands for.
Although her actions are sup
ported by the university and are
protected by the Bill of Rights,
she has been subjected to
taunts, jeers and protests at
home and on the road, includ
ing a Vietnam veteran
approaching her on the court
with an American flag while
another player was about to
shoot a free throw.
At a recent road game at the
U.S. Merchant Marine
Academy, roughly 300 midship
men spent the bulk of the game
harassing her, going so far as to
call for her deportation while
she sat on the bench in foul
trouble. Several alumni and ath
letic supporters have demanded
for Ms. Smith's scholarship to
be revoked and for the senior to
be dismissed from the team, a
moot point as their season is
over, save for the conference
tournament. Despite the public
condemnation by several well-
known figures in the sports
world - most notably
University of Connecticut
women's basketball coach Geno
Auriemma and, ironically
enough, ESPN's Dan Patrick —
the Manhattanville senior will
continue to exercise her right to
express her disgust, as well she
should.
Change only comes about
when people are brave enough
to stand up for wha they believe
in. However, this should not be
such a big deal. Many people,
myself included, decline to par
ticipate in reciting the Pledge
for personal reasons and mini
mal, if any, fuss is made. This
courtesy must be extended to
Ms. Smith and other athletes
who choose to express their
views in pre- and postgame
events, lest any individually
held beliefs be squelched by the
ever-growing groupthink trend.
Lenzy Krehbiel is a columnist
at Oklahoma State University.
MAIL CALL
Tanks being transported
through campus at night
It's 12:15 Monday morning, and I'm driv
ing down University after cramming for
ACCT 230 at West Campus Library for the
previous three hours (I'm being generous).
Before proceeding through the underpass,
movement above on the train tracks catch
es my eyes; trains are not uncommon dur
ing the night, as anyone living along
Northside/Northgate can attest. Tanks, how
ever, are.
There's no poetic or profound way I can
say this: tanks were being transported along
our College Station train tracks.
I should be catching up in my ACCT and
ECON right now, considering 1 have tests in
both this week, and I'm three chapters
behind in each, as well. But my mind
returns to those tanks -1 shudder every time
I think about what I saw.
Curiously, though, is the fact that this vast
number of tanks (I lost count even after
stopping and putting on my hazard lights so
as to count each one) was being transport
ed at night.
But, it makes sense. They'd never be
transported during the day when every
body could see them. What kind of field
day would there be if we were in buses,
stuck behind the train, late to our classes,
anxious to take our respective tests, and
impatient as to what's making us late, and
we look out to see these tanks going past
us. E-42, E-51, E-40 scrawled on their
sides, blowing by.
Millions before me have said much more
eloquently what I wish to express, but if a
scene as surreal as this past morning's isn't
enough 'Folgers in your cup’ to wake you
up, I'm not sure what is. I'm not a cynic, nor
a pure right-wing, nor a pure left-wing. But
I am scared, scared of what I witnessed this
morning. I'm sure that tanks have been
escorted many, many times over those very
tracks, but none affected me more than the
ones I saw today. Remember the Vietnam
War? Black Arm Bands, baby.
Nazer Taqvi
Class of 2005
Lack of support heading into
war disheartens soldiers
I am bothered by a few things that are
happening at our University as well as in
our country right now.
I will be commissioned as an officer in the
United States Navy upon graduation of
Texas A&M, and 1 look forward to serving a
country that I love and respect with all of
my heart.
What bothers me is seeing anti-war
protests and anti-American values, though I
am still willing to fight and defend the free
doms that people at A&M and others in
America demonstrate.
What I do not appreciate is the lack of
support that is shown for our troops that
are being deployed overseas and those that
are already there.
Whether you agree with the war or not,
these troops are doing their job and in
doing so, are protecting our lives and our
freedoms.
1 do not understand why some of the
states in America are banning the pledge of
allegiance in schools. If you feel so com
pelled to show disloyalty to our country, try
going over to Iraq and burning their flag,
and then see how long you might live over
there.
Jake Baker
Class of 2006