Scholarship Money

The Anne Arundel Young Farmers will hold its 18th annual auction tomorrow to raise scholarship money for students interested in agriculture. While the auction always draws a large crowd, interest in the scholarship money has dwindled.Young Farmers has not awarded a scholarship since 1996 -- not because applicants are not qualified, but because no one has applied, said Greg Wayson, a Young Farmers member.While Young Farmers members attribute the lack of interest to a declining number of students pursuing agricultural studies, educators say interest in agriculture-related fields is growing and the real problem may be the eligibility rules for the scholarship.

Deepan Patel has waited tables and worked in a buffet serving line for more than two years at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville.He also attends Catonsville Community College -- with the assistance of the residents he serves.The residents get a little emotional about the students who are among the 850 employees at Charlestown and who, they say, make life a little more pleasant for them.They support their feelings with cash by contributing to the students' education through a scholarship fund that has raised more than $200,000 in less than six years.

When Michelle Bedke was in 10th grade, her father was forced to retire. Suddenly, the family had no money for her college education, she said. Bedke applied for as many college scholarships as she could find and received four, she said. "All I had to pay to go to school was $150" a semester, said Bedke, now in her first year at Howard Community College. Last week, the 18-year-old got to thank at least one of her benefactors in person, at a college-sponsored lunch specifically for scholarship donors and the students who benefit from the money they give.

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland's senatorial scholarships are a $5 million patronage pool more useful for keeping lawmakers in office than paying tuition, Common Cause of Maryland charged yesterday.By doling out small sums to large numbers of voters, senators use the programs to maximize their political muscle, said Common Cause's executive director, Phil Andrews."In Maryland, the road to re-election in the state Senate is paved with scholarship money," Mr. Andrews said. No other state gives legislators that kind of fund, he added.

Not unlike Pavlov's dog responding to the clang of the dinner bell, I can't help getting a warm feeling whenever I hear the name of a certain Maryland politician.It's all because this pol -- let's call him Senator Pavlov -- gave me a few hundred dollars in state scholarship money each of the four years I attended a private Maryland university.Well, this dog is about to bite the hand that fed him.I have nothing against the good senator. I've never even met the guy. And certainly my parents and I appreciated the scholarship money.

OVER many years, most of the things that are wrong with the Maryland legislative scholarship program have been cited in editorials on this page:It's a convenient form of patronage, especially for the senators, who handed out $5.6 million last year to constituents. (The House of Delegates program is much smaller: $1.4 million.)Because it's not based on need, scholarship distribution is arbitrary. Aid goes disproportionately to students attending a few expensive private colleges -- and to whites.

ScholarshipsSenatorial scholarships being awarded by state senators have offended me for several reasons. First, it is not a fair practice. Second, it does nothing but foster political patronage for incumbent senators -- rather than help education.At present, Maryland state senators determine who gets slices of their annual scholarship money. Further, state delegates also enjoy this political perk.There are some elected officials who will agree with me, in regard to the awarding of scholarships.

Doreen Pettigrew, 17, is a senior at Randallstown High School who is in the midst of her scholarship and financial aid search. "I am very concerned," Doreen said. "I need money."Doreen is applying to four schools: Virginia Union University, Virginia State College, Hampton University and Morgan State University.Her situation is a typical one for the thousands of high school students searching for enough money to get them into college."I just went to a workshop last week on how to fill out forms for loans, grants," she said.

The scam known as Maryland's legislative scholarship program becomes a bigger embarrassment with each passing year.That's the 125-year-old program in which Maryland's 141 delegates and 47 senators annually bestow scholarships worth millions of dollars on their constituents. No other state has such a program -- and no state needs one.Elected officials have drawn charges of political favoritism by giving the grants to the children of associates and campaign workers. Some legislators have even displayed the breaktaking gall of handing out scholarships to members of their own families.