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Colleges Offering Scholarships for LGBT Students
Filed under: In The News
Some colleges are offering LGBT students scholarships. Credit: Getty
At a time when finding financial help to pay for college tuition is becoming more and more challenging -- the recession has scholarship providers cutting back -- colleges and junior colleges are stepping up to plate with scholarships available specifically for LGBT students.
Lansing Community College says it will be the first known two-year institution to offer a scholarship to LGBT students, The Michigan Messenger reports.
The community college joins a growing number of four-year universities that are targeting scholarships exclusively to students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, according to CollegeScholarships.org.
"These populations have become much more visible within higher education, but still face formidable social challenges," the College Scholarship website states. "Scholarships reflect the trend in diversity: Encourage students of all backgrounds to participate to their highest potential."
The Lansing scholarship is open to any member of the LGBT community who has a 2.2 or higher grade point average, is younger than 25 and resides in the district, the Messenger says.
The scholarship was named for Betsy Lou Robson, a member of the Lansing, Mich., community, whose family is funding it, the newspaper reports.
"It's a wonderful thing to see young, out and proud members of the LGBT communities being recognized and helped in their educational goals," Denise Brogan-Kator, interim executive director of Equality Michigan, tells the Messenger. "We are particularly pleased to see this start to happen on the community college level, where so many people turn for vocational education or for a more inexpensive way to begin their college careers."
The Point Foundation is another organization that has awarded $3 million in scholarships to LGBT students.
"The Point Foundation works to equalize the playing field for those who are disadvantaged simply due to their sexual orientation or gender identity," the organization's website states.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-13-2011 @ 2:20PM
Lauren said...Wow, this is ridiculous and absurd. Its about as pointless as getting a scholarship for being a girl or a boy. Just sounds silly. Disadvantaged? I'd like to see how. They have SUCH a strong voice in today's culture, suing nearly everyone who even looks at them cross-eyed. They're not pushing for equality or tolerance, they're pushing for complete and total acceptance. And that's what really bothers me. Whatever happened to "agreeing to disagree"?
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1-13-2011 @ 6:48PM
Alicia said...When LGBTQ-identifying teenagers stop being driven to suicide because people think it's okay to taunt them, I'll agree to disagree. When I stop having to worry about my friends and I getting the shit kicked out of us leaving clubs at night because they're gay or we were in a gay club, then I'll agree to disagree. When no one who is not straight cis gendered ever has to worry about being the next Matthew Shepherd, I'll agree to disagree. When I can walk down the street and never again hear the word "fag" in reference to anything but a cigarette, I'll agree to disagree. Until that time, I do demand complete acceptance and equality for my LGBTQ friends and family members. You don't have to starting doing girls, but you do have to deal with the fact that they exist and they have just as much right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as straight people, including marriage. Churches should have the right to turn gay weddings away if they disagree that fully, but civil unions do not offer the same protection as marriage, so either they have to be updated, or full marriage rights need to be granted to everyone.
1-13-2011 @ 6:49PM
Alicia said...I got a scholarship for being the child of a divorced single mother. My friend got a scholarships for being 1/8 Native American and 1/16 Irish. Scholarships aren't as merit-based as everyone would like to think and they get handed out for every reason under the sun, so why not?
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1-13-2011 @ 8:38PM
Sifrina said...Just another one of many signs of how we are finally evolving as a society! Yes, they are absolutely disadvantaged as they are singled out unfairly and denied basic fundamental rights given to heterosexual individuals for only religious reasons (which are not mine!). Like it or not (and I like it!), this is all coming to an end! Many European countries have passed laws to protect gay rights and we will too! Soon it will be the law of the land and we will be a better country for it!
As Justice Walker so eloquently put it (who was appointed by President Reagan, by the way):
"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples," "Race restrictions on marital partners were once common in most states but are now seen as archaic, shameful or even bizarre," he added. "Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals."
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1-15-2011 @ 7:18AM
Frankster said...In reaction to Lansing Community College LGBT scholarship. I was like wtf to people who comment on other newspapers about how you going to prove their LGBT? How can you prove someone is straight? By Honesty of the person and by comb filtering their applications. IF that does not work use Gaydar!!! Seriously though I wish Lansing Community College had sent out a notice to local High School GSA's, PFLAG's, and support groups. A friend of mine said well the wheels of progress spin slowly in Business. Well the advocate in me wants to shout to the world. You are not alone, It should be no LGBT child left behind, cause you deserve an education regardless of your sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
So please consider to donate! Keep this scholarship going.
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