Racism As A Solution For Racism
Finally! Somebody's figured out that minority-only or women-and-minority-only scholarship programs are racist and sexist. Jonathan D. Glater writes in The New York Times that colleges are opening to white students the opportunities formerly reserved for minorities and women:

"Our concern is that the law be followed and that nobody be denied participation in a program on account of skin color or what country their ancestors came from," said Roger Clegg, president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity, which has been pressing institutions on the issue.

"We're not looking at achieving a particular racial outcome," Mr. Clegg added. "And it's unfortunate that some organizations seem to view the success or failure of the program based simply on what percentage of students of this color or that color can participate."

Advocates of focused scholarships programs like Theodore M. Shaw, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., challenge the notion that programs for minority students hurt whites. "How is it that they conclude that the great evil in this country is discrimination against white people?" Mr. Shaw asked. "Can I put that question any more pointedly? I struggle to find the words to do it because it's so stunning."

...The two Supreme Court affirmative action decisions that are worrying the institutions involved the University of Michigan. In Grutter v. Bollinger, the court upheld the use of race in admissions decisions at the law school. It found that there had been a "highly individualized, holistic review of each applicant's file" in which race could be properly considered.

In Gratz v. Bollinger, the court struck down the use of race in undergraduate admissions, finding that those applications used a scoring system that should not have awarded points based on race.

"When the Gratz and Grutter decisions came down, that was really kind of a mixed bag," Mr. Reindl said. "It's still a very murky environment, and it's also a very contentious environment."

To me, the biggest divider of people is financial status, not race. A lot of newspapers have these minority scholarships and fellowships. Well, what of the white kids who don't come from rich families and have to work two jobs just to make ends meet during college? Aren't the kids of any skin color and lesser means the ones who need help -- not a middle-class black kid who won the skin-color lottery, at least in hand-out terms?

UPDATE: More on this from a young journalist named Jeanene Harlick who posted a letter over at Romenesko, the media blog:

I have been a struggling, daily newspaper reporter for more than five years. I have had enough people tell me I’m gifted, smart and gutsy to know that it’s true.

And yet – I cannot for the life of me secure a staff writing post at a decent paper. Why? I don’t have the connections. And perhaps worse, I’m white.

We all know that connections and race is what it comes down to in the end, when it comes to working at the big papers. Those connections are rooted in one’s socio-economic background – i.e. family wealth and heritage. I grew up in a working class family that never had money, pedigrees or knew anyone the slightest bit “important.” My sister and I were the first of our family to graduate from college. I worked my ass off at UCLA and graduated summa cum laude. I also graduated with the highest GPA of any student athlete (I was on the track team). I think it’s clear I am smart and a very hard worker. But because I am a middle class, white woman, I never get a break.

Because I’m white, I don’t get any nice little affirmative action hiring gestures. And since I don’t have connections, editors never read my clips, because I’m a nobody. And on top of it all, I’m a woman, putting me at even more risk of being overlooked.

Big-name papers only look at you if you’ve worked at other big-name papers. But the only way to ever get a job or internship at your first one is 1) to be a minority, 2) be rich enough to attend a fancy grad program that has great internships, or 3) know someone. The rest of us are screwed. Period. No matter how hard we work.

I bet if somebody investigated the backgrounds of the newsroom staff of the nation’s major metropolitan papers, they would find that the people hired either 1) come from a privileged background or 2) are an ethnic minority. I dare newspapers to open up their doors and let me prove it.

Shouldn't the institutions who are largely responsible for molding public opinion be just as subject to investigation as our politicians? There is something wrong about the lack of scrutiny newspaper professionals receive.

I applied for a position at the San Francisco Chronicle Monday night. I applied online, sent my clips, everything. I have freelanced for the Chronicle for 3 years. All my stories have been on the community the advertised beat covers. Today, I got a generic e-mail from the Human Resources Department saying thanks but no thanks. I have never been so insulted. Obviously, The Chronicle did not even look at my clips. They automatically screened me out after a quick glance at my resume.

I am without a doubt qualified for the position. Besides being a veteran reporter, I grew up in the neighborhood the beat in question covers. But because I’m a poor, white, nobody of a woman I’m screwed.