Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 11, 1 November 2003 — Scholarship eligibility [ARTICLE]

Scholarship eligibility

Thanks in part to one resilient student, Native Hawaiians are now eligible to receive scholarships from federal programs designed to benefit under-represented ethnic groups. Until recently, the U.S. Dept. of Education grouped Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders together with Asian Americans, preventing them from being eligible for federal scholarship programs designed to financially assist individuals from under-represented ethnie groups. But in July, the DOE, in eomplianee with a federal directive, created a new racial classification for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, separating them from Asian Americans, who are not

deemed an under-represented group. The thrust behind the reclassification stems from a 19-year-old Native Hawaiian student from Kailua-Kona, James Kawika Riley, who is studying political science at the University of Northern Colorado. Riley said that the old classification system kept scholarships dispersed by the federally funded McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program out of the hands of Native Hawaiians for years, and he felt compelled to act. Riley's research led him to a directive requiring all federal agencies to separate Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders from the Asian-American classification. With help from U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, the DOE policy was revised. Named after NASA astronaut Ronald McNair, who died in the 1986 Challenger tragedy, the McNair program provides students interested in pursuing doctoral studies with mentoring, tutoring, summer internships, research opportunities and assistance in securing financial aid. Last year, the DOE allocated over $38 million to 156 colleges that carried the McNair Program. ■