This letter is in support of the important and poignant column by John LaFleur printed Monday (Racial discrimination is part of scholarship process, SN 10/23). I regret that LaFleur had to bear the weight of this gross injustice, but I am quite appreciative of his desire to share it with The State News readership.

I have felt for a long time that collegiate admission and scholarship qualification is rife with reverse discrimination. Scholarships offered to undergraduates and graduate students alike should never include racial profiles as means of qualification. Grade points, test scores, community and extracurricular involvement and personal ability should.

We need a truly even playing field in this world, across the board. That includes job candidate selection, college admission and scholarship qualification. Handouts are disgraceful not only to the people who accept them, but for the institutions that grant them. I say it is to MSU’s advantage that we have LaFleur, because any institution as discriminatory and racist as Florida State University certainly doesn’t deserve him.

Roger Smith
journalism junior