Prescott College, a private college in Arizona, has caused a firestorm of controversy over the creation of a fee to fund a scholarship for illegal immigrants. Students can decline the $30 annual fee but must do so affirmatively — otherwise it is automatically added to their $28,000 tuition.
The faculty and students at the college voted to create the scholarships to reverse the image of Arizona as a “national example of discriminatory politics.” The move was praised by President John Flicker who said “I am proud that our students take on the role of scholar activists” and promised to do more to “broaden access to higher education for a diverse group of students” and work for “social justice.”
Clearly the college can extend scholarships to anyone that it deems worthy. However, I have serious problems with imposing this type of charge on students and requiring them to affirmatively bow out rather than requiring them to affirmatively accept the charge. The fact is that many Americans are opposed to immigration reforms allowing undocumented immigrants to secure licenses or other benefits. Such a position does not mean you are racist or hateful. I have long been critical of companies that get people to accept offers but, in fine print, automatically renew the subscriber unless they affirmatively ask out of the offer. It is disheartening to see educational institutions adopt such tactics, particularly on an issue of such deep philosophical division.
On the merits, I would simply add that a college can affirm that it is open to the admission of undocumented persons while making scholarships available to all students regardless of their status. Such a system guarantees that undocumented persons will be given scholarships if they are the most qualified academically. Likewise, the school can simply reaffirm that undocumented persons will be treated equally on scholarships based on need without reference to their status. Instead, the college is imposing a fee for a scholarship for undocumented persons as a group on all other students unless they affirmatively ask not to be charged for that scholarship.
What do you think?
How wonderful is the American university system? It funds its political agenda on the backs of its students-and their parents-while supporting presidential candidates who want to shift the burden to the taxpayers, all the while turning out a crappy product that cannot find employment.
Immigration, legal or illegal, is meant to help this country become more “tan” in hue. The President detests white people world wide, you know. Choking Europe and other nations including the US is not some random exercise in altruism. It’s tied into lowering intelligence quotients and it’s especially meant to offer up a lower cost labor environment so corporations can run cheaper and make more profits. These are the real reasons for Obama’s moves toward phony altruism, there is not an altruistic bone in that commie’s body. We have Obama to blame for the illegal vermin that is pouring into our porous borders. Clinton will continue this choking move should she have her lies dismissed by our rapidly rotting legal system. Relax and enjoy your serfdom!!
@Mitch. Because this website was founded by a legal scholar I urge you to refrain from posting the “illegal alien” nonsense. There are only legal and non-legal residents of the US and of our states. If your ancestors arrived as immigrants after the foundation of the US they were not “legal aliens” but legal residents of the US, albeit with a foreign citizenship for a while. You know that of course so why do you publish nonsense?
Dieter – ‘alien’ is the term used in the Constitution. You are either a legal alien or an illegal alien or a citizen. Those are the three choices. The sanitation engineer is not an engineer, but is really the garbage man. Illegal is illegal.
My lord the comments on this website have become an embarrassment.
Thirty dollar optional fee annually?. My kid goes to a podunk state school and pays that much per credit hour for “athletic” scholarships! And they don’t have a football program yet!! Of her tuition and fees one fourth is “fees” and “thay aint” optional. Schools have fees for many things…i suspect if i peeled the onion some of my kid’s are going to illegals. Kudos to prescott for making this more of a charity. It could be worse they could be required to get an expirimental meningitis vaccine to attend. Happened in florida.