Binghamton University has been joining colleges across the country in funding a scholarship to acknowledge racial marginalization, most recently rewarded in the 2021-2022 academic year.

Since 2020, the George Floyd Scholarship for Social Change has been instated and funded with $1.5 million by donors to the Binghamton University Foundation. According to Rebecca Benner, the associate vice president for advancement, applicants must be full-time undergraduate students in good academic standing to be eligible for the scholarship. They must also have participated in some form of activism for social change and must show financial need.

“Recipients receive at least $5,000 per year, for up to three years, in recognition of their demonstrated activity and/or achievements related to social change, restorative justice or racial equality,” Benner wrote in an email. “With this scholarship, we are supporting educational opportunities for driven and talented students who are making positive changes in our world.”

On June 10, 2020, BU President Harvey Stenger had released a B-Line News Addition recognizing the death of George Floyd and several other Black Americans during the Black Lives Matter movement. Stenger had said the University is supportive of the calls for legislative change across the country, especially for police reform, and announced the presence of the new scholarship to support Black students on campus.

“Not only do we support these calls for change, but our campus will take action on them by immediately applying them to our police department,” Stenger wrote. “We are also committed to the academic success of the Black community. Therefore, the George Floyd Scholarship for Social Change has been established to support future African American leaders who seek racial justice and endeavor to make a positive impact on the world.”

Celine Lodge, a recipient of the 2021-2022 scholarship and a senior majoring in nursing, said she found the demonstrated activity portion of the application simple because she is a McNair Scholar, as well as a resident assistant and a health care worker.

“I believe [that] when you are passionate about something, doing the task becomes like second nature,” Lodge wrote in an email. “I enjoy shedding light on [the] negative impact of implicit bias and discrimination, in which I emphasized a change must be made. I would definitely recommend other students to apply for this opportunity and remind them to never tell themselves ‘no’.”

Patrick Saint Ange, a junior double-majoring in sociology and English, said activism is not a new concept to him, as he has participated in protests for the Black Lives Matter movement as well as protests against University policies. Ange recommend the scholarship to other students on campus, and said the application process was straightforward as it had asked him to write an essay describing his definition of racial equality and social change.

“I don’t view my community involvement as ‘achievements,’” Ange wrote in an email. “I get involved in the community because to me, it’s a moral obligation. When there’s a call to action, I can’t ignore it. I wanted to highlight the importance of educating Black youths of their history and culture and warn of the dangers that come with only viewing [the United States] only through a white lens.”

Ange said he considered the awarded money crucial for him staying in school. He said he was denied private loans and is also not getting enough in aid from the government, which caused him to have to work several jobs throughout school and constantly apply to similar scholarships.

“This scholarship was crucial in funding my education,” Ange wrote. “Like many other low-income students, I felt a tremendous amount of guilt going to school knowing my mother would be working double and sometimes even triple shifts to afford it. I remember being in a panic my freshman year of college because my family couldn’t afford to pay my bill for school and we couldn’t get approved for any private student loans.”

Marielle Joseph, a junior double-majoring in human development and linguistics, said she believes she got the scholarship due to her passion for mentoring incarcerated juveniles through the Black Student Union’s Uplifting Through Unity Responsibility and Nurturing (U-TURN) program. Through U-TURN, Marielle said she has been able to have “heartfelt conversations” with people who needed help preparing to return to the world outside of incarceration.

“Ever since I have received this scholarship, I have encouraged others to apply to scholarships like this one,” Joseph wrote in an email. “Before receiving this I fell for the misconception that it was impossible to receive scholarships such as these — because I believed it was impossible to win — not realizing that everyone has this similar mindset. I feel like people aren’t aware of these scholarships and if they are aware they don’t think they’ll win and I was once at the end of that stick. But that didn’t stop [me] from applying again.”