People have complained about the elitist attitude around Park, but before this semester I never quite understood where these accusations came from. Now I do.
At Park there is a selective scholarship program that fully pays for tuition and a new computer called the Park Scholar Program. Students can apply as incoming freshmen or as rising juniors. It being my sophomore year, I was really hoping to be able to apply for this scholarship.Except apparently I’m not good enough to apply. Not because of my GPA or any other academic or judicial reasons. I can’t apply because I came in as an English major.
I don’t understand Park’s reasoning for this. It’s like Park is telling me that no matter how well I do grade-wise, no matter how much time I put into Park-related organizations like the Ithacan and ICTV, I’ll never be quite as good as the other students. This realization has really started to get to me and make me feel inferior to a lot of my classmates. I’ve started to question my own abilities and worthiness to be in the school.
Now, I don’t think for a moment that I would receive one of the few awards available. Yes, I wanted to apply, but I’m not as delusional to think for a second that I would deserve the award over some of the other people who are applying. This post is about me feeling like my own school is telling me I don’t belong, that I’m not good enough even though I’ve been taking classes for this major since my first semester. Since on paper I came in for English, I’m worth less to Park.
The elitist logic behind this issue confounds me. Why can’t all Park majors apply and then be chosen by who deserves the scholarship most? Just because someone decides in their second semester that they want to pursue a major in the communications they’re somehow inferior?
Oh wow, that is ridiculous. I did not know that. I think that if you are a parkie, whether or not you were one to begin with, you should be allowed to apply. Im sorry. <3
again, this is really ridiculous. i think it’s an absolute crime that they will not allow outsiders to apply. to top it off, the scholarship is strictly based on merit–no financial need is taken into account, which i also happen to find absurd. why give a free ride to someone who can pay for school and is privileged enough to belong to societies and have loads of extra curriculars (because their schools can afford those programs–as opposed to high schools like mine from poor rural neighborhoods) instead of someone who works their ass off and is struggling with debt? i truly don’t understand the park scholar program. it’s like they want to award the elitists for being elite, and put everyone else back in their place.