THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 23, 1995 TAG: 9505230247
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a Richmond appeals court's decision banning scholarships restricted to blacks at the University of Maryland. The action casts in doubt the future of more than 1,200 minority scholarships in Virginia.
Officials from Virginia colleges said Monday that they would review the Maryland decision and consult their lawyers before deciding whether to keep their scholarships.
``We're all wondering what is going to happen,'' said Robert Belle, associate director of the State Council of Higher Education. ``We certainly want to comply with the spirit of the law, but we also want to make sure we can achieve the diversity objectives we're looking for.''
Mark Miner, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, said Monday, ``Our office is going to review the decision and see where we go from here.''
In October, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Maryland scholarships unconstitutional. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied, without comment, the university's request to hear the case.
That puts an end to Maryland's Benjamin Banneker Scholarships, a full-package award offered annually to about 30 blacks. But it leaves uncertain the status of minority scholarships in Virginia, which is also in the 4th Circuit's domain.
Paul Kamenar, executive legal director of the Washington Legal Foundation, which led the challenge to the Maryland scholarships, said Monday that he would monitor other colleges, including those in Virginia, to see whether they drop their scholarships.
``Legally, it's binding on every college in the circuit,'' Kamenar said. ``Those scholarships are unconstitutional, unless there is evidence of discrimination on the campus in question, which is highly unlikely.''
But Belle said the Virginia scholarships differed in a few key respects from the Bannekers, which the appeals court found were not ``narrowly tailored'' to make up for previous discrimination in Maryland. Most of Virginia's awards, for example, are open to all minorities, not just blacks. But most aren't open to out-of-state students, as were the Bannekers.
``If you're trying to achieve diversity within an institution and are only doing it for a single race, there are certainly questions there,'' Belle said. ``Our program is not just for black students.''
The Maryland case was brought by a Hispanic student, Daniel Podberesky, who was denied a Banneker scholarship.
Virginia has two main statewide minority scholarships - the ``Last Dollar'' program and the ``Transfer Grant'' program, for transfer students. Combined, the programs offered about $1.5 million in aid to 1,250 students in 1993-94, state council records show.
Both grants require recipients to demonstrate financial need. The Transfer Grants also are offered to white students at black colleges. In 1993-94, 95 whites received them at Norfolk State University and 21 at Virginia State. That was about 17 percent of all Transfer Grant recipients.
In addition, many Virginia colleges run their own programs. The University of Virginia, for instance, annually offers about 50 University Achievement Scholarships to blacks from Virginia and about four Jerome Holland Scholarships to out-of-state students.
Louise Dudley, a university spokeswoman, said U.Va. lawyers would study the Richmond court decision to determine whether it applied to the university's scholarships, which, unlike the Bannekers, are privately funded.
Minority scholarships have been under attack since 1991, when the Bush administration considered banning them but backed off after widespread outcry among colleges.
Critics see the grants as blatant examples of reverse discrimination that only exacerbate racial tensions.
The University of Maryland ``ended up discriminating against members of racial minority groups that played no role in past discrimination,'' said Richard Samp, chief counsel of the Washington Legal Foundation. ``. . . This cycle of racial discrimination has got to be brought to an end if we are ever going to achieve the ideal of a color-blind society.''
Supporters say the effect of minority scholarships has been greatly exaggerated. A study by the U.S. General Accounting Office showed that the scholarships account for 4 percent of all money awarded to undergraduates and that 7 percent of minority students get them.
They also say the grants still are needed to attract blacks to college after decades of segregation.
``These scholarships are very important,'' said Benjamin Berry, a history professor at Virginia Wesleyan College. ``I do not feel we're on a level playing field . . . and these scholarships have done a little bit to improve the situation.''
Tracey Phillips, an 18-year-old from outside Petersburg, is a recipient of U.Va.'s University Achievement award. Without it, she said Monday, she would have gone to North Carolina A&T, a historically black college in Greensboro.
``I think a lot of people wouldn't go to these universities if they didn't have these scholarships,'' said Phillips, a systems engineering major who just finished her freshman year with a 3.3 average out of a possible 4. ``They are necessary to show that we are just as worthy to be at these universities as other people are.'' by CNB