THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 25, 1994 TAG: 9411230111
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TEENSPEAK
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
WHEN A COURTLAND woman died several years ago, she left money to her church to be awarded annually in the form of a scholarship to a worthy, young church member.
LeAnne Hancock, a senior at Southampton High and a member of Courtland Baptist, has already applied for that scholarship this year. And she's applied for another that is granted only to cheerleaders who receive certain awards at an annual cheerleading camp.
Although only Baptists can win one scholarship and only cheerleaders the other, Hancock isn't bothered. Both, she said recently, are private scholarships, left to the discretion of the individual or the organization.
But scholarships awarded with state or federal money are a different thing, the high school senior said.
``Awarding scholarships funded with state money should be based on what a student has achieved during high school,'' Hancock said. ``Just because a college needs more black students, it's not fair to offer scholarships only to blacks.''
The controversial subject of minority-only scholarships was addressed recently when a panel of federal judges in Richmond ruled that the University of Maryland's minorities-only program was unconstitutional. If the decision is upheld, colleges in Virginia and elsewhere in the country fear they may have to drop the programs, which many use as a tool to integrate campuses.
With little exception, a group of students at rural Southampton High agreed that might be a good thing, given that it could give high school students seeking college scholarships a more even break when they apply.
Offering minority scholarships opens the doors to discrimination, senior Charlie Harris said.
``You might get qualified people to come to your school, but you might be exploiting somebody because of race or sex,'' he said.
Harris, who is black, plans to attend a four-year college to major in chemical engineering. With a 3.4 GPA, he's already been accepted at one major university in North Carolina, but he also intends to apply to the University of Virginia. He's not attracted by UVA being a predominately white school. He said he hasn't even thought about more scholarship money being available because of his race.
``I want to get away from home, but not too far,'' he said. ``And I know UVA has a good chemical engineering and chemistry program.''
Tamekia Greene, a junior, wants to major in medicine. When she thinks about college, she said, she considers Howard University or St. Paul University, not because those schools are predominately black, but because she would feel more comfortable.
Some students do think about race when they consider college, Hancock said. And often, white students will look at black colleges and universities with the idea that they can get scholarships easier at those schools just as blacks can get scholarships easier at mostly white universities.
But most students who really want to go to college aren't very discriminating about where the money for it comes from, Hancock said.
``If your parents have to put you through college, it can really put them in debt,'' she said. ``It makes me wonder if it's the students who are bringing up the idea of discrimination. I'll bet not, because most of them will take whatever they can get. I would go to a black school, if I could get a scholarship. I would. I'd take it.''
But if others got scholarships that they went after just because of race, said junior Aaron Woodard, he would be mad.
Greene was the only one in the group who said she felt blacks often need financial help more often than whites. And she feels they should get the help they need.
More than anything, though, it depends on where the money is coming from, the students agreed. If it's private money, the scholarship can be directed to any individual or group.
If it's state or federal money, it should be open to everybody. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
[students]
KEYWORDS: SCHOLARSHIP by CNB