Bob Jones University, a Christian school in South Carolina that has received national criticism for its now-abolished ban on interracial dating, has begun to offer a scholarship program for minority students, though the school does not perceive itself as having a race issue.
The scholarships range from $2,000 up to $10,000 -- approximately the cost of attendance at BJU -- and are available for minority students who demonstrate financial need.
The scholarship fund is controlled by a board independent of the university, described by BJU spokesperson Jonathan Pait as "friends of the school."
"They saw a need and wanted to address it," Pait said.
The university itself offers only work/study aid programs, and government aid is denied to students because of the school's religious orientation. Pait hopes that the program will enable students to attend BJU that might not otherwise be able to afford the school.
Student Ruth Crumley, who received a scholarship this year, said that the money was the answer to her prayers.
"My parents, who are missionaries, were concerned when I wanted to go to BJU because of the cost, but we prayed about it, and the Lord provided the money," Crumley said.
Crumley, who is black, believes that some people might not feel comfortable attending BJU because of its media image as a racist institution, and hopes that removing of the dating rule will change that image.
"I think some people might now be more open to the school," she said.
Crumley emphasized that she has never felt uncomfortable as a minority at BJU, even though when she entered the school the interracial dating rule still applied.
"I wanted to go out to dinner with a male friend of mine who was white, and we couldn't because it was considered dating," Crumley said. "I knew about the rule when I came, though, and it wasn't a big deal. We still hung out in groups with white guys, and when I had to go to a special event I just went with girls."
Though the scholarships have received attention as "minority recruitment," Pait stressed that this is not the case.
"We have been recruiting minorities for 30 years," he said. "We consider a student's character, not the color of their skin."
He estimates that the student body is now approximately 10 percent minority, and that interest in the school is rising among minorities.
"Our market has always been conservative churches, which used to be mainly white, but in the last 10 years the church's makeup has become more multicultural and more minorities have been interested," Pait said.
BJU decided to amend the interracial dating rule after a firestorm of criticism was sparked by then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush's visit to the campus during his 2000 presidential campaign.
"We knew people were getting the wrong impression of the school because of the ban on interracial dating, so we changed it when everyone was watching," Pait said.
The university supports a literal interpretation of the Bible, and the original justification of the rule was based on a passage in which speakers of different languages are separated.
"In the story of the Tower of Babel, God divided people into different groups," Pait said. "What we call races are an extension of the original division, and it was thought that we should uphold that division."
He emphasized that BJU did not intend the rule as a racist policy.
"People who looked beyond our image could see that there is racial harmony here," Pait said. "We don't group ourselves into races, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ."
