Should P. Diddy's son return his scholarship money?

[Dangit2019]

It's absurd that this is an issue. Not only did the kid earn the merit scholarship, but it's such a tiny sum of money compared to the billions we've thrown at banks. I don't know what shitty excuse for a media outlet made this an issue, but whoever thinks he has an obligation to give the money back should stfu.

npr, apparently. I kinda thought it was weird they made it an issue myself.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

The thing is, his Dad's money is always going to be a reality, and he's always going to have it. He worked hard and earned a spot in college. That itself should have been good enough, nobody would have thought less of him for letting his Dad pay for his education with near unlimited funds. Instead he decided to accept a massive scholarship from a school with limited funds.

A massive scholarship that the school chose to give him because he earned it. Scholarships aren't for the second best.

Oh, so he did something worth $50k? Scholarships are to allow people who can't afford to go on their own to go. They're to get more students who deserve to go but can't. Not to give cash to those who deserve to go and can already.

Normal scholarships do, athletic scholarships are used as an incentive to attract better players and to get fans excited enough about the team that they will pay the crazy prices they charge to see them. If a person is on the fence about which college to go too, he'll probably go to the one that is offering him the highest scholarship to go and play for them.

 

[Dangit2019]

It's absurd that this is an issue. Not only did the kid earn the merit scholarship, but it's such a tiny sum of money compared to the billions we've thrown at banks. I don't know what shitty excuse for a media outlet made this an issue, but whoever thinks he has an obligation to give the money back should stfu.

NPR apparently. I don't know why they made it a big deal either; there's much more screwed up corruptions in that business to cover.

EDIT: I totally just reposted.

 

[Dangit2019]

Hold on, i accidentally double posted.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

The thing is, his Dad's money is always going to be a reality, and he's always going to have it. He worked hard and earned a spot in college. That itself should have been good enough, nobody would have thought less of him for letting his Dad pay for his education with near unlimited funds. Instead he decided to accept a massive scholarship from a school with limited funds.

A massive scholarship that the school chose to give him because he earned it. Scholarships aren't for the second best.

Oh, so he did something worth $50k? Scholarships are to allow people who can't afford to go on their own to go. They're to get more students who deserve to go but can't. Not to give cash to those who deserve to go and can already.

Normal scholarships do, athletic scholarships are used as an incentive to attract better players and to get fans excited enough about the team that they will pay the crazy prices they charge to see them. If a person is on the fence about which college to go too, he'll probably go to the one that is offering him the highest scholarship to go and play for them.

Oh ugh. In that case I dislike the whole idea of the scholarship he got.

Well, welcome to the system. If it makes ya feel any better, chances are, that money wasn't gonna go to anybody who needed it anyways, because most of the people who get into UCLA tend to have richer parents then you or me.

 

[Dags90]

The purpose of a scholarship should be to get people in who actually need financial help. It's not as if they really did anything worth $50k. The whole idea of a scholarship isn't really that you're earning the money, what you do really isn't worth the money you get. The whole idea should be to help students who need it. He doesn't.

This is an athletic scholarship though, it's merit based. The whole idea of this specific scholarship is to attract good athletes who will garner good ticket sales and endorsement deals. It's an investment on the part of the athletics department.

People ***** about Paris Hilton just living off of her parents money but attack this kid for trying to make it himself; we can't have it both ways people..

Paris Hilton has actually earned a fair amount of money, and 97% of the family fortune is set to be donated to charity. Far from living off her parents' money, she's leveraged the family name recognition into a(nother) business empire. A poor example.

 

[UnendingLight]

Merit Scholarships =/= financial aid.

If he worked hard, got the grades, he deserves the money.

For people who have the ability to go to college, but are unable to do to finances, they have financial aid.

In a perfect world education would be free and we would all go to extended education, but unfortunately it is not. Would it have been gracious for him to turn it down and give it to someone more needy (if there even was someone available)? Yes. Doesn't mean he had to or that we should look down on him for not doing so.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

So someone who wont be able to afford college should do without because Justin Combs wants to prove he's more than a name? Would the hard work he put in to be accepted into college suddenly be negated because, like so many other college goers, his parents payed for his tuition?

No, someone's going to miss out because they're not as good as Justin Combs.

Justin Combs was going to be able to go anyway. They failed to get anyone new.

The thing is, his Dad's money is always going to be a reality, and he's always going to have it. He worked hard and earned a spot in college. That itself should have been good enough, nobody would have thought less of him for letting his Dad pay for his education with near unlimited funds. Instead he decided to accept a massive scholarship from a school with limited funds.

A massive scholarship that the school chose to give him because he earned it. Scholarships aren't for the second best.

Oh, so he did something worth $50k? Scholarships are to allow people who can't afford to go on their own to go. They're to get more students who deserve to go but can't. Not to give cash to those who deserve to go and can already.

Not for me to decide what his achievements are worth and it's for neither of us to decide to who and why that college gives out scholarships.

Cop out. His achievements are not worth that much, they did not benefit people that much. And I don't get to decide, but I'm free to criticize. Don't like my criticism? Then refute it, don't give me a worthless cop out about how it's not for me to decide.

And it's a sports scholarship. Considering how hard they work free of charge I'd say that yeah he's going to have earned that 50k after 3 or 4 years of college. College athletes have to keep basically a proffessional level schedule on top of college work. Colleges make lots of money from sports, students don't. So yeah, if he was the best player then he deserves the scholarship.

Pfft, sports scholarship just makes it worse. They work for themselves. Do I get complimented for studying hard in my chosen field free of charge? No? Don't see why they should. They don't do anything particularly great academically and colleges ought to be about academics.

If he was the best player he still wouldn't deserve it.

Well I can tell you that the academic field you take part in isn't history or cultural studies, because athletic events tend to have large effects on culture and evolution of society. I would not say they are as important as say, a civil engineer, but they are important as a cultural identity and as a way to appease the masses of their competitive lusts for glory. Sorry mate, Sports are part of human nature and are pretty important.

 

[headbanger97]

I am personally split on this one. If he did actually earn it then yeah he deserves it. At the same time, his dad could easily pay for his college. There are so many more needy people who could really use that scholarship. So ultimately I would have to say that while he may deserve it, it would be a dick move to actually accept it.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

So someone who wont be able to afford college should do without because Justin Combs wants to prove he's more than a name? Would the hard work he put in to be accepted into college suddenly be negated because, like so many other college goers, his parents payed for his tuition?

No, someone's going to miss out because they're not as good as Justin Combs.

Justin Combs was going to be able to go anyway. They failed to get anyone new.

The thing is, his Dad's money is always going to be a reality, and he's always going to have it. He worked hard and earned a spot in college. That itself should have been good enough, nobody would have thought less of him for letting his Dad pay for his education with near unlimited funds. Instead he decided to accept a massive scholarship from a school with limited funds.

A massive scholarship that the school chose to give him because he earned it. Scholarships aren't for the second best.

Oh, so he did something worth $50k? Scholarships are to allow people who can't afford to go on their own to go. They're to get more students who deserve to go but can't. Not to give cash to those who deserve to go and can already.

Not for me to decide what his achievements are worth and it's for neither of us to decide to who and why that college gives out scholarships.

Cop out. His achievements are not worth that much, they did not benefit people that much. And I don't get to decide, but I'm free to criticize. Don't like my criticism? Then refute it, don't give me a worthless cop out about how it's not for me to decide.

And it's a sports scholarship. Considering how hard they work free of charge I'd say that yeah he's going to have earned that 50k after 3 or 4 years of college. College athletes have to keep basically a proffessional level schedule on top of college work. Colleges make lots of money from sports, students don't. So yeah, if he was the best player then he deserves the scholarship.

Pfft, sports scholarship just makes it worse. They work for themselves. Do I get complimented for studying hard in my chosen field free of charge? No? Don't see why they should. They don't do anything particularly great academically and colleges ought to be about academics.

If he was the best player he still wouldn't deserve it.

Well I can tell you that the academic field you take part in isn't history or cultural studies, because athletic events tend to have large effects on culture and evolution of society. I would not say they are as important as say, a civil engineer, but they are important as a cultural identity and as a way to appease the masses of their competitive lusts for glory. Sorry mate, Sports are part of human nature and are pretty important.

And you can quantify how important? I don't deny that some sort of competitive pass time would probably be good. I am doubtful that we need it to the degree we have it. Or to the degree it gets paid.

Well for one, its a profitable business that employs thousands across their respective countries in several different fields, proving that sport teams can be EXTREMELY beneficial to that areas economy, even at the college level. Secondly, its brings a sense of unity within the community. Third, it keeps the people happy (Yes, you can dispute this one, but believe it or not, public sporting events have been used to appease the masses since Ancient Greek times.). Fourth, Athletics tend to lower crime rates. Yes, it doesn't give way to advancement in society in the same way that engineering or scientists do, but neither do Video games and yet we pay abnormally large prices for them. It becomes a part of your community's culture and it eventually gives way to becoming a part of their identity.

Keep in mind that sports are in the same category as Arts and Theater. If you believe that sports are unimportant simply because they don't progress us forward, you can't defend the other two. And its always been in this scenario. More roman citizens were at the Gladiatorial games then at the theaters, but both were still considered important.

 

[Fatboy_41]

As far as I'm concerned, scholarships are not about helping the less fortunate get educated. That's what government funding is for.

A scholarship is used by a school or collage to get the best and brightest to attend their institution. This is why any scholarship I have heard of involves testing in the chosen field, this instance being football, and then the school selecting the best and offering them a place. Personal financial position should be a non-issue is such instances.

I can understand people getting up in arms about it, because of the family money that is most likely available to him, but I don't agree.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

So someone who wont be able to afford college should do without because Justin Combs wants to prove he's more than a name? Would the hard work he put in to be accepted into college suddenly be negated because, like so many other college goers, his parents payed for his tuition?

No, someone's going to miss out because they're not as good as Justin Combs.

Justin Combs was going to be able to go anyway. They failed to get anyone new.

The thing is, his Dad's money is always going to be a reality, and he's always going to have it. He worked hard and earned a spot in college. That itself should have been good enough, nobody would have thought less of him for letting his Dad pay for his education with near unlimited funds. Instead he decided to accept a massive scholarship from a school with limited funds.

A massive scholarship that the school chose to give him because he earned it. Scholarships aren't for the second best.

Oh, so he did something worth $50k? Scholarships are to allow people who can't afford to go on their own to go. They're to get more students who deserve to go but can't. Not to give cash to those who deserve to go and can already.

Not for me to decide what his achievements are worth and it's for neither of us to decide to who and why that college gives out scholarships.

Cop out. His achievements are not worth that much, they did not benefit people that much. And I don't get to decide, but I'm free to criticize. Don't like my criticism? Then refute it, don't give me a worthless cop out about how it's not for me to decide.

And it's a sports scholarship. Considering how hard they work free of charge I'd say that yeah he's going to have earned that 50k after 3 or 4 years of college. College athletes have to keep basically a proffessional level schedule on top of college work. Colleges make lots of money from sports, students don't. So yeah, if he was the best player then he deserves the scholarship.

Pfft, sports scholarship just makes it worse. They work for themselves. Do I get complimented for studying hard in my chosen field free of charge? No? Don't see why they should. They don't do anything particularly great academically and colleges ought to be about academics.

If he was the best player he still wouldn't deserve it.

Well I can tell you that the academic field you take part in isn't history or cultural studies, because athletic events tend to have large effects on culture and evolution of society. I would not say they are as important as say, a civil engineer, but they are important as a cultural identity and as a way to appease the masses of their competitive lusts for glory. Sorry mate, Sports are part of human nature and are pretty important.

And you can quantify how important? I don't deny that some sort of competitive pass time would probably be good. I am doubtful that we need it to the degree we have it. Or to the degree it gets paid.

Well for one, its a profitable business that employs thousands across their respective countries in several different fields, proving that sport teams can be EXTREMELY beneficial to that areas economy, even at the college level. Secondly, its brings a sense of unity within the community. Third, it keeps the people happy (Yes, you can dispute this one, but believe it or not, public sporting events have been used to appease the masses since Ancient Greek times.). Fourth, Athletics tend to lower crime rates. Yes, it doesn't give way to advancement in society in the same way that engineering or scientists do, but neither do Video games and yet we pay abnormally large prices for them. It becomes a part of your community's culture and it eventually gives way to becoming a part of their identity.

Employs people, okay. Doesn't give it much meaning. Doesn't mean it should be lauded.

Sense of unity? I don't see that it creates any kind of particularly *useful* sense of unity.

Keeps people happy? Is that worth a $50k scholarship? Did someone get that for video game design too? It's disproportionate.

Lower crime rates? I imagine other things do too.

Keep in mind that sports are in the same category as Arts and Theater. If you believe that sports are unimportant simply because they don't progress us forward, you can't defend the other two. And its always been in this scenario. More roman citizens were at the Gladiatorial games then at the theaters, but both were still considered important.

...
Notice the other two, Arts and Theatre. When was the last time you heard of someone getting a $50k scholarship to attract the person to their school as opposed to other ones?

What part of "Athletics have always been vastly more popular then the arts" did you not understand? Obviously you're going to see a price difference between them. Also, its UCLA, you know, one of the most popular sports college in the country. While they do have a popular acting and performance crew, they probably realize that they make MUCH more with the athletes. Combined, the NFL teams alone are worth more then the Movie Industry and the video game industry. Its a sad fact, but people do prefer to stay home and watch the game then to go to the Opera.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I would be inclined to agree with many of you that, given the kid's connection to wealthy benefactors, he should return the money in hopes that it reaches someone who would truly benefit it more.

But I won't because of another factor that comes to mind.

Though the kid would've undoubtedly be able to go to college, he wanted to pay for it/earn his tuition on his own. For him, this would be the first step towards independence and to step away from the shadow of his father. To prove one's own worth is a feat that many of us strive to achieve once we come of age and this is no different.

I side with the kid keeping the money because I too paid for my own tuition. I had to work long hours, save a lot of my money, and avoid many luxuries that others took for granted because their parents were covering their tuition.

Now, I'm a happy graduate, with no student loans to worry about, and job interviews that are right around the corner.