Texas scholarships offered for 'white men only'

Members of a new Texas association are starting a college scholarship program for a group of students they say do not have as many options as others – white men.

Colby Bohannan, a student at Texas State University in San Marcos, and some friends have formed the non-profit Former Majority Association for Equality, which will provide the scholarships. The idea was that there are many scholarships geared toward helping minorities and women attend college, and there are also scholarships for people from certain religions or from certain families. But Bohannan thought his demographic group was missing.

"We know that we're going to be receiving some vicious attacks from people claiming that we are racists, or promoting some bigotry-filled agenda," Bohannan said.

Starting this summer, the association plans to provide as many as five $500 scholarships to deserving white men with adequate academic records, Bohannan said.

"Our aim is actually just to help students," he said. "We are not trying to jump on any political agenda or bandwagon."

To qualify for the scholarship, applicants have to be able to prove that they are at least 25 per cent Caucasian," Bohannan said. "We're not looking for blond-haired, blue-eyed, stereotypical white males," he added.