White-only scholarship sparks debate

A controversial white-only scholarship given by the College Republicans at Roger Williams University has created a debate on colleges' affirmative action programs.

The Roger Williams' College Republicans awarded the first ever "Student of Non-Color Scholarship" this month to twenty-year-old Adam Noska. The application required a 100-word essay on "why you are proud of your white heritage," and asked for a picture to confirm whiteness. Any evidence of bleaching, the application said, would result in disqualification.

The group said the scholarship was intended to generate dialogue on campus about affirmative action. The award was originally $50, but last-minute contributions raised the scholarship to $250.

The Roger Williams College Republicans have received accolades from opponents of affirmative action legislation. The dollar amount of the scholarship has been raised to $2000 due to donations from supporters.

The Tufts Republicans said that they have no plans to create a similar scholarship.

Assistant Director of Student Activities Ed Cabellon said he hopes "students planning similar events will think of all sides and of the consequences of such a controversial action." However, "in the end it's their prerogative, and we do not censor any student organization," he said.

Both sides of the political spectrum are now hitting the group with criticism. "I'm sure they expected backlash from the left, but they were probably surprised by the strong response of the right," senior and former Tufts Republicans president Rachel Hoff said.

Since the announcement of the award, the Roger Williams College Republicans have faced de-recognition threats by both Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and the Roger Williams student senate. In addition, Roger Williams student President Erin Bedell is leading an effort to void the College Republicans' charter and remove the group from student funding.

"The scholarship is a race-based scholarship and therefore stands in direct conflict with the GOP's beliefs about equality and not judging people based on the color of their skin," Hoff said. "It's not OK for a group to do something that runs contrary to their ideology just to cause controversy."

Reginald Jones, a Rhode Island radio host and opponent of affirmative action, announced the award during a lecture at Roger Williams. The event was met with small protests, including about three dozen students who stood up and turned their backs on Jones during the announcement of the award.

Junior Jackie Zapata, a former Tufts Community Union (TCU) senator and Latin American Students culture representative, said she disagrees completely with the scholarship. "The methods used were offensive and tactless," she said. The "stunt was not to promote education, and instead of inspiring dialogue, it inspired controversy."