Political scholarships: not just for mob bosses anymore

Nadine MelamedStaff WriterThree job ideas have stayed consistent throughout my years of growing up: secret agent, rapper and, of course, president of the United States.Needless to say, I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of danger, rebellion and the overall attraction of being a complete bad-ass. (Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually quite dangerous being a rapper — thug life is hard. Peep Biggie.)Very few children — at least, very few of the children I knew growing up — imagine a career in politics. As teenagers and adults, many people seem to become downright opposed to the notion.That’s fair, considering a few corrupted politicians have tainted the image with deceptive remarks and unprofessional scandals (Smile and wave, former Governer Blagojevich). It’s just like the one rude cheerleader who ruins the cheer name for everyone else, when in reality the other cheerleaders are quite kind and thoughtful.It should be easy to imagine the comments I’ve received when I answer that belittling small-talk question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s always the friends of my parents or people who haven’t seen me in years that ask me that question, to which I respond, “I want to be the President of these great United States.”They often smile and reply politely, though with an underlying tone of condescension, “I’ll vote for you.” Some have told me disdainfully, “Politics is no place for a young lady.” But people who know me know I’ve always envisioned myself in politics.So imagine my dismay a few weeks ago when, looking through the yellow booklet of locally funded scholarships in the College Center, I discovered not one scholarship supporting students of any kind of political science.It’s hard to accept the idea that alums and groups who fund these scholarships would simply have forgotten to support advancement for students interested in politics. After all, it’s absurd to believe, out of 3,200 students and about 800 seniors, not a single one will go to college in hopes of pursuing a political career. It is more likely that these alums simply don’t believe in politicians enough to support students who want to emulate them.I’m not blaming Samo for the lack of political scholarships, because the money for scholarships comes from specific alum donors. But the lack of future political advancement opportunities available at Samo, a school that prides itself on its variety in academic opportunities, is disappointing.It’s unfortunate to be subjected to society’s generalization of politicians and people interested in the field. No, we’re not all liars and money-hungry monsters. Most of us current and future politicians just want to positively impact the world and leave our humble mark in history.Politics may be a dirty game at times, but until a person is immersed in a field of work or study, he or she cannot truly judge how positive or poor that field is.Admittedly, a student does not have to study political science to work as a politician. In fact, most politicians have degrees in other fields — law, history or even medicine. But this does not make political science any less valid a field of study. A student who decides to pursue a political science degree needs and deserves the same support as a student in any other discipline.So alums, help us students out. Having political scholarships at Samo can help many students find their career path in politics, a necessary and valuable realm of jobs that is too often discredited. After all, there’s nothing more bad-ass than being able to reach out to and improve other people’s lives.nmelamed@thesamohi.com

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