The Rhodes scholarship, one of the oldest and most selective postgraduate programs in the world, has helped educate leaders in all fields for well over a century, from science to the arts to government, business, higher education, medicine, law, media, and nonprofits. But like most longstanding educational institutions created in the West, our program continues to evolve and to embrace the diversity of the globalized, postcolonial world in which we live.
We are both proud Rhodes scholars. One of us (Elliot) went through the program in 1974, before women were allowed to apply and before black South Africans were admitted. And one of us (Jin) is the first undocumented student to be an American Rhodes scholar.
If the Rhodes scholarship — endowed by Cecil Rhodes, one of the prime architects of colonialism in southern Africa — can open its doors to undocumented students, then we are confident that other scholarship funds can take the same step. Accordingly, we urge other scholarships, institutions, and funders to support all qualified students, regardless of immigration status.
Undocumented students in the United States, by virtue of their life experiences, are uniquely placed to understand the challenges facing the world as nations become more interconnected and must confront the ubiquity of human migration. The Rhodes scholarship was opened to Dreamers — to exceptional undocumented students who qualified in every way but for immigration status — after Harvard University advanced Jin, knowing he was ineligible. The university rightly urged reconsideration of the Rhodes eligibility criteria, which had stipulated for over a century that applicants must be citizens.
This decision was made on principle. Our fundamental mission at the Rhodes Trust is to empower outstanding students whose talents, ambition, and character offer the potential to change the world. And if an American Dreamer best meets the criteria, the trust declared, she or he should be selected to represent the United States at the University of Oxford and to advance the trust’s goals thereafter anywhere in the world.
A 1982 Supreme Court opinion, Plyler v. Doe, determined that a free K-12 public education must be guaranteed to undocumented students under the equal-protection clause of the Constitution. But there is no such constitutional guarantee to a postsecondary education. As a result, many doors after high school remain closed to undocumented students. Financial assistance for them is limited to a small number of enlightened institutions. Federal funds, such as Pell Grants, and many state funds are also out of reach.
To scholarship funds and financial-aid programs, the change in criteria we are calling for is trivial. But to hundreds of thousands of American college students, it can mean the difference between completing a degree or not. We urge nationally coveted postgraduate scholarships for research and education, as well as the thousands of local scholarships administered by religious institutions, schools, and nonprofit organizations, to make the slight change in their bylaws to allow all students in their communities to apply.
National scholarships dedicated to serving undocumented students such as TheDream.US and the Golden Door Scholars program have made important headway in improving access to higher education for undocumented students, and those scholarships can serve as a model for others in America.
For some students, this difference — whether or not they qualify for a U.S. passport — is significant enough to bar access to full educational opportunity. But in the classroom, this difference melts away, as students exercise their passions and abilities. America’s colleges and universities know this. For decades, many colleges have accepted undocumented students. Similarly, the U.S. House of Representatives is now considering a bill to allow DACA recipients to work in Congress, a crucial opportunity currently restricted to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
Accordingly, we are taking the Define American #Scholarships4All pledge and calling on all scholarship funders to open their doors to undocumented students. This not only elevates the “smartest” or “highest achieving” undocumented students but also upholds the promise of the American idea that in the absence of arbitrary barriers to one’s success, all who work hard can make it in this country.
For now, let private scholarships take the lead and the moral high ground. That will fortify bedrock American values and advance the flourishing of our democracy. Then let our state and federal governments follow. Education in the 21st century knows no borders, and education funding must rise to the occasion.
Jin Park is the first DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient to receive a Rhodes scholarship and to be a Define American fellow. Elliot Gerson is the American secretary of the Rhodes Trust and executive vice president of the Aspen Institute.
