THE JEFFERSON Scholars Foundation's fundamental mission, according to its annual report, is "to attract the most promising students in the nation and to give them sufficient financial support so that they are free to develop their talents and to use them for the good of the University community." The program has had great success in finding students "who excel in a wide range of endeavors and who show promise of becoming tomorrow's leaders" and luring them away from Ivy League and other quality schools with an honor that some consider the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in the world.
The Office of Financial Aid assists students "who cannot attend the University without financial assistance," and except for Athletic Grants-in-Aid, some loan programs and a few specific scholarships, all aid awarded to students is need-based.
Of course the two organizations should be independent. The two groups have unrelated goals, one based on recruiting scholars, the other enabling students to attend regardless of wealth.
Until recently, the Jefferson Scholar Foundation's system of awarding scholarships without the approval of the Office of Financial Aid has served the school well. Now, however, the NCAA has found Jason Bernd and me in violation of its regulations -- we receive money from a non-University source. In order to be reinstated, we could repay the entire scholarship that we have been receiving for three years, or the Jefferson Scholars Foundation could choose to grant final decisions on scholarship recipients to the Office of Financial Aid.
While the repercussions of repaying our scholarships are obvious, institutionalizing the Jefferson Scholarship is a feasible solution, but only temporarily. The Jefferson Scholars Foundation could continue to choose students based on nominations, essays, interviews and other evaluations. Now it would be required to present its recommendations to the Office of Financial Aid.
The Board of Directors of the Jefferson Scholarship fears losing control of its decisions because of such reliance on the Office of Financial Aid. The other merit scholarships, although different in their source of funds, offer evidence that this change would not affect the prestige of the scholarship and should not deter private donors from supporting the Jefferson Scholars Foundation.
Although the decision to institutionalize simplifies the issue for everyone, it should not be a permanent solution. Selfishly, I would like to see it used temporarily to allow me to return to the sport I love. Also, if implemented immediately, it could have an effect on potential members of the Jefferson Scholars Class of 2004.
Even though I foresee few grave consequences and several immediate benefits, I do not want the Jefferson Scholars Foundation to compromise its objectives permanently for the sake of a few students each year. Instead, I hope the Board will take action to appeal the NCAA's rule. The NCAA's goal "to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of the student body" shows that the association did not implement the regulations in order to deny the best students from competing in athletics. The rules have been enacted to help ensure that fully-funded teams like our football team do not offer extra benefits to entice more students to attend the school. Applied solely to prevent unfair recruiting, the regulation has validity.
We received Jefferson Scholarships for our scholarship, citizenship, and leadership, not our athletic prowess. With only two of the 103 current Jefferson Scholars playing varsity sports, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation has failed miserably if its mission is to recruit athletes. The NCAA should recognize the Jefferson Scholarship and similar scholarships as valid efforts to recruit good students. Since the NCAA claims to care about the need for strong academic performance among athletes, it should be willing to rewrite its rules to enable students like Jason and me to play sports.
Although I know that bureaucracy could make our efforts futile, I have confidence that if enough people pressure the NCAA, they might consider making a change. They have made concessions in the past. For example, I failed to pass through the NCAA Clearinghouse my first year because it did not consider one of my English classes in high school acceptable. With pressure from the University's compliance office, however, the NCAA waived the requirement because it saw that its blanket rule to reject independent courses made no sense in light of my other academic achievements. If the NCAA makes such concessions for individual athletes, it could certainly make a change for students strapped with the decision to end their sports careers prematurely or turn down an impressive academic scholarship.
Regardless of the decision of the Board this Friday, I plan to initiate action to appeal the NCAA regulation. I hope the Board finds the results of this issue as important as I do to the future of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. They should do everything possible to resolve the issue both with the best interests of all student-athletes in mind and without permanently becoming dependent on the Office of Financial Aid.
(Jen Blomberg is a third-year commerce student, Jefferson Scholar and rower.)
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