Something is very wrong with our nation when it takes something as patently offensive as a "white- only" scholarship to reveal the hypocrisy of similar "minority-only" awards. Affirmative action began as a program to ensure minorities received fair consideration for employment and college admission. Sadly, it has become the basis of a movement aimed at convincing us that some people in our society are inherently incapable of achieving success on their own.

Statements made by affirmative action proponents like Julia Hynes illustrate how warped their reasoning has become. Social progressives have twisted the spirit of scholastic awards into entitlement for people they regard as inferior. Is this the message we should be sending to motivated, hard-working minority students? It is shameful that supposed champions of equal opportunity condemn a "white-only" scholarship while supporting "minority-only" scholarships.

Anyone who believes that minority students benefit when their academic achievement is defined by their ethnic backgrounds is both a hypocrite and a racist.