ATHENS, Ohio — A former Ohio University student is publicly calling out the school for its decision to temporarily pause the awarding of race-based scholarships.
“It's a regress of diversity initiatives and it's sad because people need shots,” Amelia Robinson, a 1997 graduate of the school said. “People need shots like the one I got.”
Robinson, a Cleveland native, is now the opinions page editor for The Columbus Dispatch. She says she got her first taste of journalism participating in a high school program targeting minorities.
“Every time you want to move forward, someone pulls you back,” the longtime journalist said.
Robinson wrote a fiery column calling OU’s decision cowardly and a slap in the face.
“Any excuse people have not to do the right thing they'll take it,” Robinson explained.
The decision comes after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost gave guidance to the state’s public colleges and universities following the Supreme Court’s June decision to end affirmative action and the consideration of race in the admissions process.
“The Supreme Court case does not specifically address scholarships,” Yost told 3News while in Ravenna Thursday. “What it does do is it sets out a standard that says race is not a constitutional basis to do most things, and particularly in the public sector.”
Robinson believes there is going to be a long-term negative impact for the next generation.
“I don't think this is going to stop at scholarships sadly, I think this is going to be used as an excuse to erase diversity initiatives throughout our country,” Robinson said. “You'll have people who could have contributed greatly to our society who are not going to be able to do that because they're not going to have opportunities to do that.”
3News reached out to Ohio University for a response to Robinson’s column. 3News has not received a response yet. The university is on spring break.
In a statement posted to the Ohio University website in February, school officials wrote in part, “as a public institution, we must abide by state and federal laws. Within that context, following the June Supreme Court decision in the Harvard case, we began a process to review selection criteria for admissions and scholarships as well as language in our gift agreements. This review is to ensure our processes and agreements continue to follow the law.”
The statement goes on to say scholarships already awarded to current students will not be impacted.
More Headlines on WKYC.com:
- Colleges making changes after Ohio AG says race-based scholarships could be 'unconstitutional'
- Ohio University pauses race-based scholarships after Supreme Court ruling, Attorney General advice
- 2 Supreme Court rulings in 2 days will have lasting impact on college campuses
- Affirmative action for white people? Legacy college admissions come under renewed scrutiny