Peppers donates $250,000 to UNC scholarship fund

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Peppers donates $250,000 to UNC scholarship fund

Aug 20, 2012

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Chapel Hill, N.C. — Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football player Julius Peppers donated $250,000 to the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship fund that supports African-American students, the school said in a release Monday.

Peppers previously donated $100,000 in 2009 to The Light on the Hill Society Scholarship which pays tribute to past UNC African-American graduates and supports African-American first-year students. More Info More UNC Stories

“After considering the ways that I might be able to help young college students, I decided to continue my support of the Light on the Hill scholarship,” Peppers said in a statement. “I would like to endorse this particular fund and encourage other former UNC students who have found success to reach back and assist the efforts of current and future Tar Heels.”

The Light on the Hill Society Julius Peppers Scholar receives an annual $1,000 award, renewable for up to three years. Other Light on the Hill Society Scholars receive a one-time $1,000 award.

Peppers, a No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers, has recently been in the headlines for a transcript that was found on the UNC-CH website. The transcript showed that Peppers took a number of classes within the troubled African and Afro-American Studies Department.

Peppers confirmed that the transcript was his last week, creating the potential for a violation of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The Light on the Hill Society scholarship effort began during the 2005 Black Alumni Reunion. the program has awarded 26 scholarships: 22 Light on the Hill Society Scholars and four Julius Peppers Scholars.

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I can't believe some people bring up history like it was yesterday. History is something that should be considered and learned from. Race relations have instead moved in a negative direction, by promoting race identification over a unified nation. Racism is present in this country, by people of ALL races. To end it you deal with it collectively rather than unilaterally, not by self-segregating and pointing fingers. With effort, any person born into poverty can achieve, just as a person born with a silver spoon can destroy themselves or be lazy. I work in a technically demanding field and I have seen many with a lazy and entitled mentality, and when they do not succeed, they make excuses - I have seen this across all races, as this is a choice of the individual, not a race. I have also seen those that succeed, which is done via MUCH sacrifice and hard work, and those in this category also span ALL races. So please, stop the racial division, segregation, and excuses.

RE: Peppers donates $250,000 to UNC scholarship fund

Let me state this for the record; I am a white protestant American male and I am NOT a bleeding heart liberal. Now, seriously, do some of you REALLY believe that black kids have the same opportunities as white kids in our country? There are many reasons why they do not, some of which is the fault of their own race, but the issues confronting them that are legacy in nature due to years and years of inequality far outweigh the issues caused by members of their own race.
- Posted by heelsforever

And UNC having ZERO expectations for it's African American student athletes will fix that how?

RE: Peppers donates $250,000 to UNC scholarship fund

Let me state this for the record; I am a white protestant American male and I am NOT a bleeding heart liberal. Now, seriously, do some of you REALLY believe that black kids have the same opportunities as white kids in our country? There are many reasons why they do not, some of which is the fault of their own race, but the issues confronting them that are legacy in nature due to years and years of inequality far outweigh the issues caused by members of their own race.
- Posted by heelsforever

I think they could have the same opportunities, yes. I don't believe there is anything institutional holding them back any more. The minorities that value education get one and do well in this life. But there are some in their own communities (sometimes their own families) that do not see the value in working hard to get an education. Some consider it "uncle Tom"-ish to pursue an education and a better life, like it is kissing up to "the man" or something.

High school education is free. All they have to do is get the grades and there are all kinds of opportunities available. In fact, there are a lot more predominantly white universities out there offering minority scholarships than vice versa. In that sense, one could probably argue that they have a little MORE opportunity than whites. Universities today value "diversity", and that means bending over backwards to accept minorities. And I don't have a problem with that. The only thing I have a problem with are people contending they have someone holding them back. Truthbeknown, the biggest roadblock to minorities are probably other minorities.
- Posted by TruthBKnown Left The Building

Believe what you want to believe. I have seen that in some cases they are held back by their own race and said that some of their issues are due to that fact. But I will contend that we are talking about a group of people who were held back for hundrends of years in our country. Jim crow ended less than 50 years ago. Some schools in the south were forced by the supreme court to integrate in the early 70's because they didn't do it voluntarily. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not racism still exists in our country and black Americans get more than their share of it directed at them. Sorry, but I do not agree that they have the same or MORE opportunities as the average white kid.
- Posted by heelsforever

Fifty years is an awfully long time. Schools were integrated in the 70's, also an awful long time ago.

I will say to you that YOU are the one believing what you choose to believe.

Now, I'm not saying racism doesn't exist. It does. But hearts are changing as time passes by. I'll say it again. If someone (I don't care what race you are) can't make it in America (especially in TODAY'S America!) then you are the one holding yourself back. Period.

What else needs to change? Name one institutional constraint holding blacks down.

You can't. Because there aren't any.

I'm getting sick and tired of this whole victim mentality by people that simply refuse to do what it takes to succeed. Too many people are proving them wrong every day of the week.

RE: Peppers donates $250,000 to UNC scholarship fund

TBK stated that "I don't believe there is anything institutional holding them back anymore."

I will over and above support this statement.

There is no reason to have a debate on this one. Both blacks and whites offer minority scholarships. I'll bet that more white schools offer way more than others. Why? Money and stability is the reason. Pure and simple. No one in 2012 is holding any race back. I spent over 33 years in public education, and I can say that I saw quite a lot when it comes to which families value education. The poor people don't see it. Probably never will either. I'll leave it at this statement. I could write a lot more, but it wouldn't help some on there.

RE: Peppers donates $250,000 to UNC scholarship fund

do you think that if some white man (athletic) from UNC or wherever else donated money to a scholarship for only white people that the Africian American people wouldn't be raising holy sand about it?? really!
- Posted by awood2

Go read my lists posted earlier. There are lots of very restrictive scholarships at every school. There are scholarships restricted to white ethnic groups, affiliation with white-only fraternal organizations (legally do), to those from specific religious groups, groups like Boy Scouts that exclude all but straight males, people with a certain family name, and on and on.

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