I have recently been looking for funding for graduate school. Anyone who has ever gone to graduate school knows that funding is hard to come by. It is considerably more scarce than money for undergraduate studies. There are no grants offered by the government whatsoever, so any funding that is out there is provided by private companies or by the school’s program itself. In a select few cases, there are government fellowships that are extraordinarily competitive. In short, funding is quite rare.
However, during my search, I have come across a lot of funding that is offered for minority groups, and even more recently, I came across some funding that is only applicable for LGBTQ individuals. After doing some research, I even found out that there are even more interesting cases of funding being given, such as a scholarship for people who are left-handed.
I am not inherently against any of these scholarships. My point for bringing them up is that so many of them exist, but there are only a few (almost no) scholarships for caucasians, particularly male caucasians. The general argument is that caucasians don’t need scholarships because simply being caucasian is a privilege in itself. Being male is also a privilege. Therefore, (male) caucasians don’t need funding.
That argument is ludicrously fallacious. Being against male caucasian scholarships is a form of racism. Just because some caucasians have historically treated African Americans with disdain does not mean I should suffer for their mistakes. Because caucasians historically oppressed African Americans, by extension, all of the caucasians, no matter what age, educational or familial background, have to atone for those sins?
Just because there are a lot of caucasian people in government and in senior level positions does not mean I should be held back just to let other races “catch up” to caucasians. Am I not allowed to have opportunities because there are other caucasian people who do have opportunities? That doesn’t make sense to me, especially because I am not them. I am not a rich caucasian man. I did not oppress African Americans or any other race of people. I have nothing to do with the lives of other caucasian individuals, especially the well-to-do ones in this country.
Therefore, why is there an issue for caucasians to have scholarships? A simple online search for “whites only scholarship” will bring up a multitude of opponents for why these opportunities should not exist. Here are two specific YouTube videos discussing the issue:
So why do very few of these scholarships exist? Is it because of the opposition from people like the ones in those YouTube videos? Is it because it looks better for an organization to offer individuals of color scholarships instead? Is it because there really aren’t many organizations that exist for the advancement of caucasians? I’m willing to bet that is a part of it, and even if that sort of organization did exist, it would be met with a considerable amount of criticism.
Another factor to consider in this debate is whether caucasians are generally more privileged than other races. I think, in some instances, they are, but it depends on the race you are comparing them to, to be honest. Of course, it is also important to consider opportunities on a case by case basis. But for argument’s sake, let us assume that caucasians are typically more privileged than other races here in the United States.
I come from a very modest background, and I know other caucasian males who do, as well. In that sense, we are just as underprivileged as any other race of people on an individual level, which is what is most important. We should, just like many other groups of people, be given the opportunity to flourish. Caucasian only scholarships, like many other race-based scholarships, would not be available to those who already have an abundance of access to resources. They would be available to underprivileged caucasians who want an affordable education through a merit-based award system. They would function just the same as any other scholarship, except they would be available for caucasians specifically.
Honestly, this shouldn’t even be the center of the discussion. Instead of focusing on race, funding opportunities should be focused on giving the underprivileged an affordable education. Just like African Americans would not want their scholarships being given to other advantaged African Americans, “whites only” scholarships are only trying to promote the lives of those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
And that’s what the discussion should be focused on. If a student does not have the resources to attend school, then they should be given a reasonable chance to do so, regardless of race. Race has nothing to do with it, besides being a general barometer for what social class people tend to fall under. It’s not an automatic classification. Poor caucasians should be given comparable funding opportunities in relation to other races.
Actually, from the research I have done online, it seems like most people support caucasian only scholarships. I think the main reason they are not prevalent is because of the poor media attention they get and the people who say caucasian only scholarships are racist (which is simply ridiculous). Also, there just aren’t that many “caucasian advancement” organizations out there. Historically, I would agree that there didn’t need to be many, but as the disparity in social class between different races lessens, it would be beneficial for more of them to exist. I guess it’s just not a popular cause for people to champion, especially if they are looking to gain backers or political clout.
However, in the interest of fairness, I think there needs to be better funding opportunities for all different races of people. Poor is poor, and rich is rich, and that is all that should matter.
All Grades Final 